Is Black Widow on Netflix?

From left, Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour and Florence Pugh in "Black Widow."
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Talk about how to watch Black Widow, and you'll inevitably talk about how the release of the first film in the post-Endgame era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was delayed for more than year because of the global pandemic. Or maybe about how the character of Natasha Maximoff — who has been around since 2010's Iron Man 2 — has been long overdue in getting her own film.

Both of those things are true.

One more truth about Black Widow, and it's an important one: You can watch the movie upon release one of two ways: In theaters, or on Disney Plus Premier Access.

You cannot watch Black Widow on Netflix.

The reason you can't watch Black Widow on Netflix — or most any of the other Marvel films, really — is simple. The MCU is now owned by Disney. Disney has its own streaming service. Yes, there are occasional exceptions, but those have been few and far between, and the old deals are pretty much done, which means if you want to watch a Marvel flick, you'll need to look elsewhere than Netflix, at least insofar as a subscription streaming service is concerned.

Once Black Widow has a wider digital release you should be able to find it on other services like iTunes or Amazon Video. But those will require an extra fee to rent or buy. And there's nothing wrong with either of those options. (And presumably you'll be able to rent Black Widow on DVD via Netflix once it's available in that optical format. And assuming you still rent DVDs from Netflix.)

MORE: How to watch Disney Plus on Apple TV

Is any of that fair? Perhaps not. But it is, as they say, just business.

Disney+ is available for $6.99 a month, or $69.99 a year. (The latter saves you a little money.) But if you're really serious about your entertainment, you're going to want to check out the Disney+ Bundle. That packages up Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, all for just $13.99 a month. The math in that case means you essentially get three streaming services for the price of two

Phil Nickinson

Phil spent his 20s in the newsroom of the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, his 30s on the road for AndroidCentral.com and Mobile Nations and is the Dad part of Modern Dad.