Disney announces Black Widow will be free for Disney Plus subscribers from October

But as with other films to have been released under this model, the film will eventually be available on the streamer for free – and Disney has now revealed how long fans will have to wait.

The studio has announced that the film will become free to subscribers on Wednesday 6th October, so just under three months after the original release.

The film has already been subject to several delays as a result of the pandemic, with it having initially been slated for a release all the way back in May 2020.

And Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently revealed that the decision to release the film simultaneously in cinemas and on Disney Plus was taken to avoid further postponement.

He said: "We've already delayed Black Widow a couple of times, we didn't want to delay it again.

"Yet, at the same time, we always knew there was a risk that exhibition wasn't going to be fully developed or consumers wouldn't want to go back and sit in theatres. So, we realised we had to sort of prime the pump and give theatrical exhibition a chance.

"We couldn't put all of our eggs in the theatrical exhibition basket because we knew that in the weeks leading up to the decision that the domestic market was not coming back. And it's still fairly weak. So, we're very confident that we made the right call there."

The film is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, and sees Scarlett Johannson reprise her role as Natasha Romanoff, while David Harbour, Rachel Weisz and Florence Pugh will all make their MCU debuts.

The film will kick off Phase 4 of the MCU and is the first of four Marvel films set for release in the latter half of 2021, with the others being Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Black Widow will be released on 9th July 2021. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or visit our Movies hub for all the latest news.