With news that “Wonder Woman 1984” is debuting on both the big screen and HBO Max on Christmas Day, naturally fans are going to be curious if this means other blockbusters will be doing a similar thing? Or in the case of Disney blockbusters, will they go the route of “Soul” and “Mulan” and skip theaters altogether? Well, according to Deadline, the answer when it comes to films such as “Black Widow,” “Cruella,” and a few others is…maybe.
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The report claims that the executives at Disney are very heavily considering moving a select group of films from theatrical releases to Disney+ debuts. Why would the Mouse House continue to worry about future films? Well, obviously the company wants to promote its streaming service and attract more subscribers, but also, it’s not looking like the theatrical release business is going to be anywhere close to “normal” anytime soon. So, Disney is looking at films such as forthcoming live-action films such as “Cruella,” “Pinocchio,” and “Peter Pan and Wendy” as possible Disney+ releases. But as for “Black Widow?” It doesn’t look like that’s in the cards for the Marvel Studios superhero film.
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Unlike “Wonder Woman 1984,” the report says that Disney isn’t even considering a streaming release for “Black Widow,” a film that is currently set for a May 7, 2021 release (after being delayed a full year due to COVID). However, as with everything, this could very easily change. Theaters, right now, are banking on a potential COVID-19 vaccine to be widely distributed fairly soon so that people can resume packing into theaters. Unfortunately, not everyone is as confident that will be the case by next spring/summer. So, how long is Disney willing to keep “Black Widow” on the shelf?
Regardless, while the discussion surrounding “Black Widow” seems to be tabled for a later date, Disney is apparently already trying to plan on the future of other films that were poised to be big box office hits but now might be Disney+ streaming releases. We’ll just have to wait and see how long until the studio pulls the trigger on “Cruella” and it’s other live-action remakes.