It’s finally happening. After a global pandemic and some further delays due to, checks notes, a global pandemic, it appears that Black Widow finally has a release date set in stone. Disney is Michael Scott running out of his office in a panic yelling, “it’s happening” much to the relief of the fandom. With the releases of WandaVision and now Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in full swing and further delays to Black Widow would do nothing but damage timelines, releases, and greatly disrupt Marvel’s Phase Four, Five, Six, and onward plans. This was a case that we argued a few months ago when the film was delayed again, but Disney has seen the light and fans can now bank on the Black Widow release…

…coming to theaters and Disney+ on July 9^th which is my sister’s birthday. Not a bad birthday gift if you ask me. With movie theaters across the country sloooooowly opening up, Disney is making the right call in splitting the release between theaters and their streaming platform. Speaking as someone who has had COVID, I’m still not ready to plant my rear in a movie theater seat just yet. It doesn’t feel right to me, nor do I feel comfortable, despite how badly I miss that sweet, sweet movie theater popcorn. I would imagine many of you feel the same way. Picturing myself in a movie theater right now actually makes my skin feel funny like I’m wearing a sweater that’s made of super itchy material and I forgot to wear an undershirt. Which I would never do. Who is bare chesting underneath sweaters?! Show yourselves and prepare to be properly judged.

But the dual release certainly allows the Phase Four plans to continue as planned, despite another delay for Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (now set to come out September 3^rd) while allowing fans to watch in a manner they see most comfortable. The only kicker is the safety of home is going to cost you.

Remember when Mulan was released and Disney+ started the Premium aspect of their streaming service where to get same-day release you had to cough up an extra thirty bucks, on top of your subscription fee which is going up a dollar I might add, in order to see the movie. This was earlyish into the pandemic when my hair was growing and my beard was reaching proper apocalypse status and wasn’t the most popular decision. Understandably. And I’m not here to change my tune on the Premium service buuuuut I’m going to use it in order to watch Black Widow. It’s a fact. Disney knows it has something we want and by the time the film is released in July, we’ll have had full seasons of WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier and will be on our fifth episode of Loki. They know we’re going to pay. Any good supplier knows how to treat their clientele. Damn, MCU junkies that we are.

And while coughing up some extra scratch for the film both sucks and blows, I’m happy with Disney’s decision. Now we can bank on seeing other Phase Four films like Shan-Chi, Eternals, and a little film called Spider-Man: No Way Home. This fourth phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can kick into high gear and the Premium aspect of Disney+ certainly allows the company to test the waters when it comes to other releases later in the year. Hopefully, by then we’ll all be sitting in theaters with big tubs of popcorn trying to figure out if we should just take our masks off or just fill them with popcorn and eat until we can breathe comfortably.

What do you think Geeklings, are you happy Black Widow is coming to Disney+ and theaters? Which viewing method will you use? Be sure to sound off in the comments or throw me a line over on Twitter @iamgeek32. I’d love to hear how you feel about the final release date and maybe if some of you plan on viewing at home, there can be a watch party in our future. Dare to dream.