Black Widow has been officially delayed to July, but that might actually be the best decision for both the film and MCU fans. Led by Scarlet Johansson and co-starring Florence Pugh and David Harbour, Black Widow was initially meant to premiere in 2020, but was pushed to May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s now been pushed yet again to the summer, when it will debut both in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.

The mass-closures of movie theaters internationally and coronavirus production delays have all forced major scheduling changes for the film industry at large. As the biggest film franchise in the world, those movie delays are no more visible anywhere than they have been for Marvel Studios. The MCU Phase 4 slate was jumbled due to the pandemic, affecting both feature films and original series on Disney+, meaning all of 2020 had to be skipped, resulting in a packed 2021. The latest Black Widow delay only continues that trend.

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However, in the long-term, Black Widow’s new July 9 release date may be the best thing for the MCU. Theaters are likely to reopen in much larger numbers and at much higher capacity over the summer, which would allow for many more fans to see it. Since Black Widow will be the first movie in Phase 4, and since a lot of the MCU’s prior momentum dissipated after Avengers: Endgame, the franchise would be served best by having as big of a theatrical return as possible. That would bring people back to the franchise after a long time away and get them excited about the other upcoming Marvel films.

Scarlett Johansson in a poster for Black Widow (2021)

Furthermore, the Disney+ Premier Access release of Black Widow is also good for the same reason. Hopefully, theaters will be safe enough come July for a good number of people to see the movie on the big screen, but many more casual fans understandably may not want to take that risk. A simultaneous streaming release will help expand Black Widow’s exposure, while also capitalizing off of the goodwill generated by MCU Disney+ shows like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the end, fans will have the choice of whether to watch in theaters or at home - not having the decision made for them.

Obviously, the stream of continuous release date delays can be somewhat frustrating, but Black Widow being pushed to July will likely only do good things for the MCU's future. In the meantime, the franchise has found great success via streaming originals, which have offered refreshing change of pace from the first three phases. Hopefully, Black Widow will prove to be worth the wait when it releases on July 9.

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