Here's when you can watch 'Black Widow' for free on Disney+

Image: Marvel Studios

2020 was a lost year for Marvel due to the COVID pandemic, but the studio is more than making up for it with an incredibly busy start to 2021. Already this year, we have seen WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the first episode of Loki, and we’re not even halfway through June. Sadly, Marvel’s movie drought has now reached 23 months, but the MCU is finally making its triumphant return to theaters next month with the release of Black Widow.

Two years is much longer than anyone expected to wait between movies when Spider-Man: Far From Home debuted in 2019, but the extended delay comes to an end on July 9th. Not only will Black Widow get a wide release in theaters, but you can also watch the new movie at home… if you have an active Disney+ subscription and are willing to pay $29.99 for Premier Access.

One way or another, hardcore Marvel fans are going to spend money to see Black Widow as soon as it’s available, whether that means going to a movie theater and buying a ticket or ponying up the fee for Premier Access. As for those of you that do not mind waiting until the movie goes free on Disney+, you will not have very long to wait, as Disney revealed on its website that Black Widow will be available for everyone with a Disney+ subscription for no additional charge starting October 6th.

Black-Widow-Disney-Plus — Black Widow will be free on Disney+ starting October 6th. Image source: Disney

If waiting until October isn’t an option, Disney is giving fans one big reason to see the movie while it’s on the big screen this July. As Deadline reported last week, the IMAX version of Black Widow will feature 22 minutes of footage in an expanded aspect ratio. The scenes have been specially formatted to show up to 26% more of the image on the screen at a 1.90:1 aspect ratio.

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond spoke to Deadline about the upcoming IMAX version of Black Widow: “Marvel and IMAX have a really great partnership and we think we each complement each other’s brand. We try to do something for the fans to celebrate the relationship.”

Here is the synopsis for Black Widow, which stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Florence Pugh as Yelena, David Harbour as Alexei, and Rachel Weisz as Melina:

In Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Marvel Studios’ Black Widow comes to theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on July 9th, and will later be available for free to everyone with a Disney+ subscription as of October 6th.

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Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.