Disney is still committed to the theatrical experience, at least more so than WarnerMedia, which will try a hybrid theatrical and streaming release strategy in 2021. For now, Disney is sticking to its theatrical release dates for most of its feature films, which means 20th Century Studios’ films that are more mature and would have a harder time finding a place on Disney+, like Mulan and the upcoming Stingray and the Last Dragon, will continue to find new theatrical release dates.
Disney has announced that The King’s Man will be moved from February 12, 2021 to March 12, 2021. It’s still an incredibly optimistic date for the upcoming Kingsman prequel, but perhaps if filming goes well, there’s a chance people will feel ready enough to see this action film in theaters. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the film is delayed again, especially if Disney thinks Kingsman is a great franchise and wants to keep creator Matthew Vaughn happy.
The studio has dated Shawn Levy’s action comedy Free Guy for May 21, 2021. The film was originally slated for this summer before being pushed back to December. Summer 2021 is a realistic window for the film, assuming vaccines do well and we have some semblance of normal life again.
After all, “Death on the Nile” is set for September 17, 2021. So if we’re lucky, we’ll be on the other side of the pandemic by then and the film should hit theaters without further delay.
There is also an untitled film from 20th Century Studios that was set for September 10, 2021, but will now be released on February 11, 2022. You might as well take a guess as I did as to which film it might be. Disney has also completely dropped a 20th Century Studios film that was scheduled for November 11, 2022.
While the past year has been full of release date changes, I think we’re finally getting to a point where the dates can be nailed down in a way that holds up. Here’s to a return to theaters in 2021.