It’s been about a decade since we first met Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow in the first Avengers film. Think of the time we’ve spent waiting for the release of Black Widow, the character’s first standalone film; seriously, it was meant to be released in cinemas way back in May last year.
Now, Black Widow has been bumped back by a few months yet again, to July 8 for Aussie fans! But viewers can soon witness the film, as well as upcoming villain origin story Cruella, in cinemas and on Disney+ with Premiere Access at the same time.
Cruella will reach our screens on May 27 and Black Widow will follow it on July 8.
The hugely popular streaming service has been toying with ‘premiere access’ for a while now, requiring paying subscribers to fork out an additional $29.99 to see new films before they’re released onto the app for free months later.
This same format was recently used for Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon. Disney has confirmed a similar release for Cruella and Black Widow.
With vaccination speeding ahead in some regions and still a distant dream for others, it’s probably wise for Disney to release huge blockbuster titles for both cinema audiences, and for at-home viewers willing to pay a premium for early access.
me after they delayed black widow for the 283873rd time: pic.twitter.com/BCgohjmdys
— via ♡’s bucky (@maximoffbarn3s) March 23, 2021
It’s worth noting that, like December’s terrific Pixar release Soul, the upcoming family fantasy Luca will be released onto Disney+ without any additional fee.
Soul and Luca are free, but Mulan, Raya, Cruella, and Black Widow you have to pay for? What are the requirements there? https://t.co/pxBvegdrIr
— SocialDuck (@SocialDuck101) March 23, 2021
Is this new release model merely a COVID-era solution, or a long-term option for Disney+ to make their films simultaneously as accessible and as lucrative as possible? Let’s wait and see.
