The current success of the MCU can make it seem like the franchise was always marked for greatness. But that was not always the case. The first few MCU films made nowhere near the kind of money at the box-office that they do now. Also, Marvel's The Avengers was the first time a giant superhero team-up movie had been planned by a major studio, which happened way back in good old 2012. In a recent interview, Scarlett Johansson shared her initial skepticism regarding The Avengers, and the one moment which made her realize the whole thing was actually going to work.

"Even the thought of all of us together in our superhero costumes sounded like it was going to be a disaster. Not a disaster, but, like, What is this? What is this?... I remember doing that 360 shot, and we're standing in the rubble of Grand Central or whatever, of this alien onslaught, and all of us are ready, like: Here we go, this is it. And then they showed us the playback, and I think that was the moment that all of us, finally, after six months of shooting, were, 'Oh, this is going to work. I think this is going to work.'"

The 360 degree shot from the "Battle of New York" in The Avengers has become the MCU's most iconic moment, the scene which heralded the arrival of not just Marvel superhero movies, but an entire, deeply interconnected cinematic universe the likes of which Hollywood had not seen before (or since).

Now Scarlett Johansson is a veteran of the MCU in the role of Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. After playing a supporting role or a member of an ensemble cast in many films in the series thus far, Natasha is finally set to headline her own solo movie.

Unfortunately, the release of Black Widow has been pushed back by more than a year already, due to the shutting down of theaters worldwide. Fans were resigned to having the movie postponed yet again since the condition of theaters does not seem set to improve any time soon.

But recently, Marvel Studios announced that Black Widow will indeed release this year in July, and debut on Disney+ at the same time as in theaters. This will give fans the chance to watch the movie in the safety of their own homes, and provide Disney+ with a huge boost to its subscribers base.

Some fans feel that Black Widow still deserves a solely theatrical release in honor of the character's status as one of the OG Avengers. Others, however, are simply happy to finally have the chance to see the film, even if it is going to be on the small screen.

Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason, and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff. The film arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 9. This news originates at The Gentle Woman.