Black Widow is one of the many movies that have seen considerable delays in hitting movie theaters due to the coronavirus pandemic. But as the pandemic stretches on despite a vaccine rollout, some movies are still getting shuffled around while theaters in some parts of the country remain closed.
Despite that, Disney reportedly plans to keep Black Widow as a theatrical-only release, one of the few movies on its release schedule it hasn’t pushed to Disney+ in some form. The movie is currently slated for a release on May 7, and as The Hollywood Reporter said, a Disney earnings call saw confirmation that the movie will premiere in theaters later this year.
“We are still intending for it to be a theatrical release,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Thursday during an investor call. “We are going to be watching very carefully to see whether that strategy needs to be revisited.”
While movies like Soul were released on Disney+ to the entirety of its subscriber base in late December, others like Mulan and the upcoming Raya and the Last Dragon film were moved to a premium $29.99 tier as it was released in theaters. Raya, which is slated to release simultaneously on March 5, will come out nearly a full year after the “final” Black Widow trailer was released before the reality of the pandemic truly took hold.
Theaters in cities like New York City and Los Angeles remain closed, though by May the world could be a very different, and more vaccinated, place. Disney seems to be betting on that right now, but it certainly has a few options to pursue if things change.