'Black Widow' to debut on Disney+, in theaters on July 9

Disney delayed Tuesday the worldwide release of the highly-anticipated Marvel Studios movie “Black Widow” to July 9.

The company added that it would offer the movie simultaneously in theaters and for a fee on the Disney+ streaming service.

The highly-anticipated movie, starring Scarlett Johansson, was originally slated for release on November 6, 2020, but was pushed to May 7, 2021, the slot previously held by “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, which vacated the spot for “Black Widow” and will now open on Sept. 3.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="620"] A scene from "Black Widow"[/caption]

The movie features one of the most beloved characters from the Avengers franchise. “Black Widow” is a prequel set in the aftermath of “Captain America: Civil War”, in particular, taking place in the two-year gap between “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War“.

Johansson reprises her role as Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanova, who died heroically in “Avengers: Endgame”.

The highly-anticipated movie also features David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle and Rachel Weisz. It is directed by Cate Shortland.

The actress had previously portrayed the character in previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films, such as “Iron Man 2” (2010), “The Avengers” (2012), “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014), “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015), “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), “Captain Marvel” (2019) and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).

Speaking about the role, Johansson said: “I get to play Natasha as a fully realized woman and in all of her many facets. I’m excited for fans to see the flawed side of her, what she perceives to be the flawed side of her and I’m looking to wipe out some of that red in my ledger so you guys will be seeing more of that.”

[caption id="attachment_215087" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil[/caption]

Furthermore, Disney stated that it would offer live-action movie “Cruella” for a fee to Disney+ customers on the same day it hits cinemas, which is scheduled for May 28 and that Pixar animated movie “Luca” would skip most theaters and debut to all Disney+ subscribers on June 18.

However, “Luca” is set to screen in theaters only in international markets that do not yet have access to Disney+.

“Cruella” and “Black Widow” will cost Disney+ customers an additional $30 each to stream at home.

The next big-budget action movie on the theaters’ summer schedule is “Fast & Furious” movie “F9,” , which is set to screen on June 25.