'Black Panther' Is Coming To Netflix Way Sooner Than You Realize

The big news in streaming is the fast approaching release of Disney's reported new streaming service, which is apparently preparing to launch next year. Nicknamed "Disneyflix," the Mouse House is reportedly planning on pulling back all their films and TV shows from other streaming providers starting in 2019 to populate the premium streaming channel. But before this can happen, Marvel's Black Panther will still be coming to Netflix for exclusive streaming rights before reverting back to Disney sometime in the future. When does Black Panther hit Netflix? The good news is there's not long to wait.

There's an approximate seven-month gap between theatrical release and streaming debut, as fans discovered back in June when both Thor: Ragnarok and Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrived on Netflix. Black Panther debuted in theaters in February, putting the seven-month mark next month in September, and that's when the film will be coming to the streaming service.

According to Netflix, who had their official "Strong Black Lead" account tweet out the news, Black Panther will be arriving on their service the day after Labor Day, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. No word when the unofficial tweet-along will occur on Twitter once it arrives, but it seems likely one will coalesce sometime the following weekend.

Black Panther is one of Marvel's most successful movies to date, and the first from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be eyed for an official "For Your Consideration" campaign this awards season, with an eye towards an Oscar nomination. The movie was a box office smash, bringing in a $1.344 billion worldwide total and a 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest of all the Tomatometer readings for any MCU film or TV show released to date. (The second highest is the film that launched the franchise, Iron Man, with 94 percent.)

I joked above about the unofficial tweet-along for Black Panther's arrival on Netflix, but the fact is, the film's debut is going to be a big deal. For those who don't buy DVD and Blu-ray discs anymore, streaming is how to watch movies again and again, and for Black Panther to be available on the current most popular streaming service means it will be accessible to watch over and over in millions of households.

This is precisely the sort of movie Netflix was hoping to get from this partnership back when they signed the contract with Disney to have the exclusive first streaming rights back in 2012. Of course, back then, Netflix had yet to launch any original content, so films from other production companies were their bread and butter. (Their first self-commissioned series was House of Cards, which didn't arrive until 2013.)

This is also precisely the reason Disney is launching their streaming service starting next year. Why give movies like Black Panther to Netflix when Disney can use them to anchor their own streaming service?

But for now, Black Panther will be Netflix's to stream for customers' enjoyment, at least until Summer of 2020, when it will reportedly depart for Disneyflix.

Black Panther will arrive on Netflix next month, on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018.