“Black Widow” and “Cruella” to be Released on Disney+

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By: Sophie Querijero

 

Two of Disney’s biggest releases of 2021, Black Widow and Cruella are both set to have simultaneous releases in movie theaters and on Disney’s original streaming platform Disney+.

Black Widow, the highly anticipated superhero film starring Scarlett Johansson, was expected to be a box office hit and was scheduled to premiere in theaters on May 1, 2020. But plans fell through and the premiere was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film was rescheduled two more times: once to November 2020 and recently to May 2021, but because of the current state of the virus and increasing number of cases, Disney is once again pushing back the film and will be releasing it on their streaming service for added measure. Black Widow will now be premiering on Disney+ and in theaters on July 9, 2021. Watch the official teaser trailer below.

Cruella, on the other hand, originally had a December 2020 release date, but for similar reasons stated above, the premiere was pushed back to May 28, 2021 for both theatrical and Disney+ releases.

Following the trend of villain-centric origin films like Maleficent, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Joker, Venom, and The Suicide Squad, among many others, Cruella shines a spotlight on Estella “Cruella” De Vil (Emma Stone), the notorious revenge-driven villain and enemy of dalmatians everywhere. The film serves as a prequel of sorts to the 1996 live action film 101 Dalmatians and follows the story of Estella De Vil in 1970s punk rock London before she became the Cruella we all love to hate. Watch the official trailer below.

Several other potential Disney blockbusters from the superhero genre (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals), to big-name live-action titles (Jungle Cruise and Free Guy), and even animated films (Ron’s Gone Wrong and Encanto) are set to be released in the next few months after being postponed due to the pandemic. Notably, Pixar’s Luca will not be released in theaters and will be available only on Disney+ starting June 18.

This continued postponement and pivot to streaming services is not unique to Disney as production companies and the entertainment industry in general are trying to cope with the pandemic. Because of this, you can expect more of your long-awaited movies to make their premiere on streaming services.

What Disney or Disney+ release are you looking forward to the most? Share it with us in the comments section below!