For several years, Netflix was the streaming destination to find not just Disney’s newest theatrical releases, but also a scattering of the studio’s older features. Now that Disney+ has entered the streaming wars and become one of Netflix’s chief competitors, Mouse House content is slowly leaving the latter service and heading to the former, such as Black Panther, which will vacate its Netflix residence early next month.
Black Panther may be a Marvel movie first and foremost, but like all MCU content, it falls under the Disney umbrella, which means that it was only a matter of time before it made the jump to Disney+. Now that time is nearly upon us, as Black Panther will bid adieu to Netflix on March 3 and establish itself on Disney+ the day after.
Although Disney+ had a lot of movies available upon its launch last November, due to the company’s existing deal with Netflix, various movies couldn’t be included on Day One. That said, Disney made it clear that these titles would eventually be thrown onto Disney+, and the plan has always been for Black Panther to drop there on March 4. Fellow Disney release A Wrinkle in Time is also leaving Netflix next month, although you’ll have until March 24 to watch it there.
Once Black Panther arrives on Disney+ early next month, that’ll leave just five MCU movies that still aren’t available on the service: The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Infinity War and Ant-Man 2 need to spend a little extra time on Netflix, but they’ll be put on Disney+ this summer. As for the other three movies, due to their ties with other studios (Hulk with Universal and Spider-Man with Sony), it’s unclear if they’ll ever be given spots on Disney+.
It’s also worth noting that just because Disney has hopped into the streaming pond and has been taking its content off Netflix doesn’t mean their relationship is permanently over. According to a report from last year, Disney movies released between January 2016 and December 2018 will return to Netflix in 2026.
So for cinematic content like Black Panther, that means having a nice and cozy home at Disney+ for the next six years, but then having to set up shop again at Netflix. It’s possible Disney will be able to work out a new arrangement with Netflix that stops these movies from leaving Disney+, but for now, just be aware that there’s a slowly ticking clock on being able to watch Black Panther and other movies that came out within that 2016-2018 period on the service.
Following his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa took center stage in Black Panther, where we saw him face off against adversaries like Ulysses Klaue and Killmonger, and learned more about his home, the technologically advanced nation of Wakanda. Black Panther was a critical and commercial powerhouse, taking in over $1.3 billion worldwide and earning a Academy Award for Best Picture nomination among its many accolades.
T’Challa and a few of the supporting Black Panther characters returned months later for Avengers: Infinity War, where they took part in the battle against Thanos’ forces in Wakanda. T’Challa was among the half of the universe that was wiped away by The Mad Titan, but following the five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame, he and the rest of the dusted were brought back to life by The Hulk with the power of the Infinity Stones that had been retrieved from different points in time.
Which brings us to Black Panther II, which was confirmed to be in development last summer. While no specific plot details have been revealed yet, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira and Martin Freeman will be returning alongside Chadwick Boseman, and Ryan Coogler is back to write and direct.
When it comes to the MCU movies, the dissolution of Disney and Netflix’s deal really only affects where you can stream said movies. That’ll be a different story if Disney+ ever starts making movies exclusive to the platform, but for now, there’s no indication that’s happening.
TV, on the other hand, is a different matter. Netflix has been the home of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher and The Defenders miniseries, and while those shows would drop the occasional reference to the larger MCU, they never felt significantly connected to the franchise, especially with their more mature tones and graphic violence. Once Disney started preparing its own streaming service, those series were wrapped up, although you can still watch the existing seasons on Netflix.
Now that Disney+ is running, it’ll be churning out its own Marvel shows to run alongside other original programming, like The Mandalorian and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will kick off this new era of Marvel TV in August, followed by WandaVision in December and Loki early next year. Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk are also in development, and there’s also the animated series What If… ? to look forward to, which will explore how major events in the MCU could have unfolded differently.
So now, in addition the cinematic side of the MCU continuing into Phase 4 and beyond, we also have these Disney+ shows on Marvel that will spotlight characters who weren’t likely to star in their own movies. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has also said these shows will be just as integral to the future of this franchise as the movies. This has been evidenced by how both WandaVision and Loki will tie into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and how characters like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk will eventually show up on the big screen once they’ve been introduced on the small screen.
However, if you were hoping that Black Panther could someday participate on the Disney+ side of things, you shouldn’t count on it. Chadwick Boseman has no interest in popping up in that corner of the MCU, although maybe he could be persuaded to do a quick guest spot down the line.
Black Panther II is set for release on May 6, 2022, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. Find out what other MCU movies are on the way with our handy guide. Feel free to also plan your theatrical visits this year with our 2020 release schedule.
