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The preceding image is for use until I have a proper logo for non-review posts on the site, upon which it will be adjusted to that.
Hello, everyone. This may not be the first post of 2020 2.0 (as it is right now, anyway) that I had planned to put out, but I had to make the best of the situation that carried over into 2021 on here.
A lot has happened since the previous update, so I will provide a brief epilogue of sorts to Part 1 before moving on to Part 2.
Even though the vaccine did start arriving before 2021 officially began, that did not stop the delays from happening.
Before I get to that, there is one that I forgot to mention last time. Back in Update #6, I mentioned Soul had been set for a theatrical release on November 20th, 2020, and they had planned to go through with it.
I realize I forgot to mention this in Update #7. They changed the plan, and put it straight on Disney+ instead. You may remember that I’ve mentioned the Premier Access thing with that where they charge you 30 bucks to watch a movie on Disney+. They did this with Mulan because they didn’t have a choice in the matter.
I had believed that they’d kept their word on it being a one-off thing. It seemed to be a one-off thing in regards to strictly putting it on Disney+ and charging you an additional price on top of that of the service itself. That was only temporary, as they eventually did make it available for free three months later. Surprisingly, they also gave it a Blu-Ray release, which I don’t think anyone was expecting. It was a welcome surprise, though.
With Soul, even though they chose to forego a theatrical release for that as well, they did not do the Premier Access approach they did with Mulan. Instead, they put Soul up on Disney+ on Christmas Day… for free. On top of that, it’s getting a Blu-Ray release as well.
Now, they’ve decided to try something a little different. They’re doing Premier Access alongside a theatrical release, and they’re not the only ones doing this sort of thing, but I’ll get back to that in just a moment.
The one they’re trying this approach with is their latest animated film, called Raya and the Last Dragon, which was just recently released. This was actually another one originally set for 2020 (five days after the last planned theatrical release date for Soul, in fact). They then originally bumped it back to March 12th, 2021, but then on December 10th, 2020, Disney’s Investor Day event happened, and a lot of big news came out of it. One of the announcements was that it was bumped up a week to the date that ultimately stuck, along with them trying the simultaneous release strategy.
Anyone who wants to pay an additional 30 bucks just so they can see it right away in the comfort of their home, you can do that. Anyone who wants to go to a theater to see it (which I’ll see if I can do), you can do that.
It does ultimately go the same way it did with Mulan, though: It’s available for Premier Access for two months before being made free the following month, with a Blu-Ray release to follow sometime later.
Before we go to Part 2, there are two more that need to be mentioned.
The last two noteworthy movies originally set for a theatrical release in 2020 (that weren’t previously bumped out) were Free Guy and Death on the Nile, the latter of which was mentioned last time on a couple occasions.
Originally scheduled for July 3rd, 2020, Free Guy (starring Ryan Reynolds as a non-playable character (NPC for short) who discovers he’s in a video game and wants to do something more than what he was programmed to do) was bumped to December 11th, 2020. Then back in November, both that and Death on the Nile (which by that point had been scheduled for the following week on December 18th, 2020) were pulled until further notice.
However, they did receive new dates a few weeks later. Free Guy is now set for May 21st, 2021, and Death on the Nile is now set for September 17th, 2021.
Now on to Part 2.
Around that same time, something that you could say would have been at the very least an Honorable Mention on my Most Anticipated List of 2021, if not actually made the list, was also pulled until being rescheduled not long after.
It is currently slated for release on April 16th, 2021, and is the latest video game adaptation.
After the trailer that recently dropped, I think this absolutely could have had a chance of making the list, and that is Mortal Kombat.
This is where it gets interesting, but also a little bit complicated for those who might not be following this as much as I have.
Warner Bros., the studio behind Mortal Kombat and several others I have mentioned previously, like Dune for example, had announced around that time that for pretty much their entire slate for 2021, they would be releasing their films on the dates they currently have set for them in theaters, but they’ll also be made available simultaneously on the streaming service HBO Max that same day. They actually started this with Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas Day, and it worked out really well for them.
There is a catch, though: They give you a month to watch it before they remove it. Obviously, it’s not permanent. They just want to strictly focus on a theatrical run after that. Their movies will still receive a traditional home media release, upon which they will add them back.
It’s just that not all theaters have reopened yet, but the ones that are they’ll put them in, so those who feel safe going back to a theater can watch one there, and those who don’t quite feel safe yet can watch it at home, so it’s a win-win situation for those interested. As long as you get HBO, you should have access to HBO Max already.
A couple weeks ago, it was announced that Paramount would be doing a similar thing with their streaming service, formerly known as CBS All Access, which has now been rebranded as Paramount+. Back in Part 1, I had originally mentioned that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run would be on that service, but now it seems to be coming to VOD as well after all. I had mentioned that at the time, but now it seems to have been made official. In other words, it will actually be getting a Blu-Ray release later, which is indeed a “Sweet Victory” for me. Longtime SpongeBob fans will appreciate that reference.
It wasn’t much longer before the release happened, either; the service itself launched a little over a week ago on March 4th.*
Now, that movie received a theatrical release in Canada, as well as an international Netflix release, but it will be on the same streaming service as bigger movies that will receive a theatrical release here.
I felt like mentioning that first since this news came out around the same time. That, and it was a sigh of relief for me.
Now on to the bigger news surrounding Paramount+. The approach they’re taking is similar to Warner’s, except Paramount is putting their movies out in theaters first. After a certain period of time, though, then they’ll put them on the service. After 30 days, they’ll put less high-profile movies on there. As for the bigger ones (examples being Mission: Impossible 7 and A Quiet Place Part II), it’s 45 days.
For the home media release period, though, at this time, I do not know how that factors in, but I will be sure to elaborate in a later update once I do.
One more thing before I close this portion out before updating further below. This regards a change of plans on my part.
This was something I also originally mentioned in Update #6. I had announced that I would be expanding to shows as well. That part has not changed, only the one I have decided to start with.
I mentioned I had initially felt like waiting until the shows from Marvel Studios started rolling out before deciding to start covering shows in addition to movies, the first of their shows being WandaVision.
At the time I made the initial announcement, I had changed my mind upon seeing Season 1 of The Mandalorian, as Season 2 was about to premiere a few weeks later at the end of October, whereas WandaVision had been scheduled for December.
Ultimately, they bumped WandaVision into January, which of course made 2020 the first year where Marvel Studios was unable to put out anything, especially after their Phase Four slate of movies had been pushed out to hopefully kick off this year.
In general and on the TV side of things, however, Phase Four did officially kick off with this show. Only in terms of movies has it not, although the date for Black Widow has not been affected further. Even so, rest assured, I will continue to monitor it and I will mention it if it is.**
I have now decided to go back to the initial plan of having WandaVision be the first show I cover after all. This is for a few reasons.
The first is that at the time of this new update post going up, they’ve given us a break for a week, as WandaVision has officially finished, and their next show in this initial lineup is upon us: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The second reason is because it doesn’t feel like the right time for me to cover The Mandalorian, especially given recent events.
Let me put it this way: The relationship between the Star Wars fanbase and Disney has been fractured yet again, as everyone associated with Lucasfilm or Disney is being slammed over what happened… and saying fractured rather than shattered may sound generous. However, it is somewhat true, because The Mandalorian was the one thing that allowed any goodwill to be given to Disney in regards to Star Wars.
That’s the furthest I’m willing to go into that here, so in regards to controversies, I have spoken.
The third reason, and this is for scheduling purposes, is that it might be easier to start with something like WandaVision anyway, because it’s a miniseries, rather than an ongoing one like The Mandalorian.
Plus, with it being a series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the start of Phase Four, I’ll be able to cover it sooner, but I still have a few movies to review first to wrap up my reviews of The Infinity Saga.
In closing, folks…
Rather than do a post regarding a review schedule for this year, since the release schedule could change at any moment, I may do something a little different, at least for the next post (not counting Part 3 of this saga or any reviews).
The next post might be a little bit of a review schedule and a little bit of a Catch-Up List, because there are quite a few 2020 movies I had intended to see and review, but did not initially get to.
As for being a review schedule, while it will still include franchises, for the time being, it’s more to ensure that I’ve covered them, regardless of whether or not the new installments in those franchises are released as planned.
Near, if not at the top of the list, are the aforementioned Infinity Saga reviews, which are as follows:
Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
I hope to get those out in the very near future, because the pandemic has put me on hiatus long enough.
So expect those reviews soon, folks, and I’ll see you there.
*The way they announced that date was perfect. Two words: Super Bowl.
**Should that happen yet again, this means a domino effect will have happened three times. This basically means that with it being the first movie in Phase Four, whenever it’s been bumped further out, so has every movie following it. It could even lead to a date swap, which happened last time.
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UPDATE #1 (March 27th, 2021): As of today, it has now been a month since the beginning of Part 2 went up. As usual, quite a bit has happened in between updates, but some of it is actually good this time, some of it you could say is good, bad, or neutral (depending on perspective), and then we get to the usual bad part.
I will go over the good part first, because I’ve been waiting for this moment to happen for so long. For the second time, Regal is coming back. It is re-reopening, if you will. Starting this Friday, April 2nd, they’ll slowly start coming back (hopefully for real this time). They announced that they would reopen for the release of Godzilla vs. Kong, which arrives this coming Wednesday, March 31st. They also stated that by a couple Fridays later (meaning April 16th), they should have more locations opened back up in time for Mortal Kombat, which is set to open that same week.
Unfortunately, the Regal in my area was not on the initial lineup. Hopefully, mine is by the time Mortal Kombat comes out.
While we’re on the subject of the theaters themselves, with movies like those two and going through the rest of their slate this year, as mentioned previously, Warner Bros. has a plan in place for next year. Their intention is two-fold. In 2022, they plan to strictly return to theaters, but then have an exclusivity window of 45 days from the theatrical release. If you feel that gives you mixed signals, I understand, because it was confusing for me at first as well. How I look at it is this: They plan to put their movies out in theaters first, and then put them up on HBO Max (I presume; I don’t believe they mentioned that last part, but considering their strategy for their 2021 slate is to put them up on HBO Max the same day as the theatrical release, it wouldn’t be surprising if it turns out they are). Basically, I view these approaches as a response to those of their competition. Their 2021 slate having a simultaneous release is a response to Disney+ doing it, except the main difference is that Disney+ isn’t doing it for everything like they are. Disney has only moved a few of theirs to Disney+ for free, and some they’re doing the simultaneous release tactic for as well.
This leads to my next two points, and we’ll come back around to another, so keep these next couple parts in mind, folks.
For the longest time, Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios was fighting to keep a theatrical release for the first movie in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is Black Widow. Ultimately, he persisted for as long as he could… but alas, it is now among those being given a simultaneous release. Not only that, it was bumped another couple months. Most recently set for May 7th, it has now been bumped to July 9th. For those who feel safe going out to a theater, you can. For those who don’t quite feel ready yet, but still intend to see it as soon as possible, you have Disney+ for that. The only downside for the latter is if you are already subscribed to Disney+, you’ll have to pay an extra 30 bucks to watch it on top of the subscription fee.
There is one part to this tactic that I’ve managed to overlook whenever I’ve had to bring it up: For those who choose Premier Access, once you pay that extra 30 bucks, you have access to the movie as long as you remain a subscriber.
Otherwise, it’ll initially be on there for two months (example: Mulan was put up on there in September, and stayed there until November), and then once it hits home media (which in that case, was December), it won’t be long before it’s added back.
In the case of Black Widow, however… I am doing what I usually do for the movies: See it in theaters as soon as possible, and then do the same for getting the Blu-Ray when it comes out.
I haven’t missed a single MCU movie in theaters, and I am not starting now.
There is something else regarding these movies, but I’ll get back to that in just a moment.
However, we are still on the subject of Disney for what’s in between, starting with another simultaneous release, so Disney does still have something coming out in theaters in May.
That would be Cruella, which is set for May 28th, but there is one problem: It’s set to open against A Quiet Place Part II. Regardless, this was probably a safer bet for them if they wanted to even have a chance of competing with Paramount.
There is one other noteworthy announcement in regards to Disney+ for this update, but it is one that will actually be going straight to Disney+ for free.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because another division of Disney has had to do this once before: They had to forego a theatrical release and send it to streaming. This is now the second movie in a row that they’ve had to do this with.
They did it with Soul a few months ago, and now their latest project as well.
That would be Pixar’s Luca. Originally set for a theatrical release on June 18th, it is still arriving on that date, but on Disney+ instead.
The best part of this is that it’ll be on there for free.
Now back to those that are still currently set for a theatrical release, starting with July.
Since Black Widow was bumped to the 9th, the next MCU installment, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which had most recently been set for that date, has now been bumped to September 3rd.
Surprisingly, only half a domino effect happened this time. At this moment, Eternals (which prior to switching places in the Phase Four movie lineup was set to open after Black Widow, followed by Shang-Chi) is still set for release on November 5th. The next one in line following these two, even before they switched, was the third Spider-Man movie, now titled Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Speaking of which, the reason why I never mentioned that during Part 1 is because of this (as mentioned when I closed out Part 1): Because its original date was still set during 2021, everything originally scheduled for as early as 2021 would be covered in Part 2. Even though it did have its date bumped throughout 2020, it was being saved for Part 2. Now that we are on Part 2, I can go into it here.
While that technically applied to Shang-Chi as well, in order for the domino effects that happened to be explained more easily, I felt like I had to mention it.
There was one other exception (but I mentioned this towards the end of Part 1). It originally had two dates in 2020, before being bumped into this year. That would be The King’s Man.
I felt like I had to acknowledge that before moving on further, but I'll get back to that movie to close out this update.
However, before we do, on to August. This is one of two that had actually been pulled back in November, then they received new dates a few weeks later, and recently they were bumped again.
Previously set for May 21st, Free Guy (Ryan Reynolds’s new movie) is now set for August 13th.
The other one was previously set for September 17th, 2021, that being Death on the Nile, but was bumped further out into early 2022.
There is one that I haven’t mentioned yet that actually had a date originally scheduled for November 13th, 2020, before being bumped to Free Guy’s current date, only to then be bumped to a little over a month before Death on the Nile’s new date. This new one was announced a few days ago.
Death on the Nile is set for February 11th, and this one, called Deep Water, is set for January 14th.
Having been bumped out into 2022, this will be director Adrian Lyne’s return to filmmaking after what will soon be a 20-year hiatus. Up until now, he hadn’t directed one movie since Unfaithful back in 2002.
It seems he found the perfect project for him to come back with: An erotic thriller, which will hopefully be way better than the last one I saw, which came out the same year as that movie.*
With this one, however, it’s being described as an erotic psychological thriller. His filmography has a bit of both, with films like 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction, and Jacob’s Ladder. Therefore, I can see why he chose something like this.
Since I’ve seen quite a few psychological thrillers, this shouldn’t be a problem for me. I’ll be sure to update further on this one if and/or when necessary.
But before we get to those two thrillers that kick off next year, we go back around to the last noteworthy movie of this year, which hopefully comes out this time.
Back to The King’s Man, it is currently set for December 22nd.
Here’s the thing… Spider-Man: No Way Home is also set for close to Christmas, being set for December 17th.
There are two things worth mentioning, one for each. Once I go over these, I will go over what I believe should happen in order for them to have a chance of doing well.
With The King’s Man, this delay will place it over two years since its original date, which came a few months before the pandemic even started.
As for Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was originally set for July 16th, then was bumped to November 5th (which is where Eternals is currently set to open, as mentioned earlier), before being bumped to where it is now.
Although it was bumped out of the date ultimately given to Eternals, it has some breathing room, but not nearly enough. Compare that to the space between Shang-Chi and Eternals, which is close to two months. That is a decent enough amount.
Unless Spider-Man is bumped a bit further out, Eternals will overwhelm it, which is the last thing Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios want to happen, let alone Sony.
While it is true that there is precedent for that (having Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk open a few weeks apart), I highly doubt that would work out twice.
So here’s what I would do.
I would keep The King’s Man (it’s been delayed long enough), but bump out Spider-Man. Yes, a domino effect would be inevitable, but Eternals needs some space between it and Spider-Man, and so do audiences who have been following the franchise since the beginning.
Because said domino effect would affect Phase Four of the MCU even further (minus the shows on Disney+), the rest of the film slate after Spider-Man begins in 2022, so I’ll be saving that for Part 3 where I go over everything. That includes everything scheduled for even further out.
The time will come for that, folks, so bear with me.
In the meantime, check back here for further updates as Part 2 continues.
*That being Femme Fatale from Brian De Palma. For me personally, the less said about that movie, the better.
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UPDATE #2 (April 9th, 2021): Almost two weeks later, and I have enough material for another update, folks. Since the first two things I will be going over here follow up from where I started last time, I’ll just go right into this one.
Last time, I mentioned how Regal was coming back for the second time (and hopefully for real this time). Godzilla vs. Kong was set to open four days later on March 31st. Regal had announced that they would reopen for its release two days later on April 2nd.
Unfortunately, my local Regal was not on that list. However, the company had also said that by the 16th (so next Friday), they should have more opened back up in time for Mortal Kombat, which at that time, was also set for release next Friday.
On March 30th, the day before Godzilla vs. Kong was released, these first two points were announced.
First, my local Regal’s reopening date was bumped back a week. Originally set for next Friday, April 16th, it has been bumped to the following Friday, April 23rd.
Then that same day, Mortal Kombat’s release date was also bumped back a week. Ironically enough, its original date was also April 16th, and so it was moved to the same date as my Regal’s reopening.
It may not be as big a movie as something like Godzilla vs. Kong, but it’s still a good choice that people would still turn up for. Plus, by the time it comes out, Regal would still gradually announce more reopening dates, as is to be expected for the next few weeks.
Next we have updates for three major releases from Paramount, all of which were just announced today: The G.I. Joe prequel Snake Eyes, the long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick (again), and Mission: Impossible 7.
I will start with the more positive one, which surprisingly, is actually Snake Eyes. It’s the latest case of a movie being bumped up for once, which has been a rare occurrence compared to one being bumped back.
Back in July, this one had been pulled from the schedule while the studio looked for a new date. The following month, they reached one, and it was rescheduled for October 22nd, 2021.
Flash forward to today, and it was actually bumped up to July 23rd, 2021, with confirmation for a theatrical release, though it is certainly possible that it could see a Paramount+ release as well, given their streaming tactic I mentioned last time.
Now for the ones being bumped back.
With Top Gun: Maverick, which was most recently scheduled for July 2nd, 2021, it has now been bumped to November 19th, 2021. Given how it’s one of those that’s possibly been delayed the most times, don’t expect this one to hold for very long, either, folks.
Regardless of when it ultimately arrives in theaters, one thing is for certain. It will receive a Paramount+ release, and with it being a bigger release, it will be made available on the service 45 days later.
As for Mission: Impossible 7, this one actually has something in common with the other two. It was originally planned for release on July 23rd, 2021, where Snake Eyes ultimately ended up. Then it was given the aforementioned November date now assigned to Top Gun: Maverick.
It has now been moved to May 27th, 2022, thus giving it a Memorial Day Weekend release. Compared to Top Gun: Maverick, this date feels more likely to hold, but not by much. However, as with that, it’ll be made available on Paramount+ following its first 45 days in theaters.
To close out this update, we go to a different studio and a different streaming service. Starting with their 2022 release slate, Sony has partnered up with Netflix for a five-year deal. How the deal works is as follows: Sony will put their movies out in theaters first. Then once they arrive on home media, they’ll premiere on Netflix, which will be the official streaming home of Sony’s feature films from 2022 through 2026. What happens from there remains to be seen*.
As always, check back here for further details on that and more.
*At the moment, anyway.
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Schedule Update #2, Update #3 (May 16th, 2021): A little over a month later, and I have material for yet another update. Last time, I closed the update out with some streaming news. Fittingly enough, said material for this one will focus pretty much exclusively on that.
My first point and my final point for this update both tie back to my second-to-last point in the previous update. The first point here focuses on something actually being moved to Paramount+, thus foregoing a theatrical release entirely (this sort of thing is nothing new at this point, and will probably continue to happen with how long our predicament persists).
The final point here is something I view as a sort of response to their 45-day theatrical window strategy, but more on that later.
Now, folks, let’s start with what we have here.
Our latest victim of the theatrical release cancellation is something that chances are a majority of you are perhaps unfamiliar with. This is something that I was genuinely looking forward to for quite some time, for two reasons. The first and main one is actually the premise, and the second is the talent involved.
The movie, titled Infinite, is a sci-fi action thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen, the Equalizer films) and starring Mark Wahlberg as a man who has hallucinations that he discovers are actually visions that he’s had in various past lives.
More often than not, the main thing that’s a deciding factor of whether or not a movie piques my interest is actually the premise, followed by who’s involved with it. Whether it’s the director, the writer, or the cast is interchangeable from there, as it depends on whose names I hear about first.
Although there are exceptions (like, say, if someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger is involved, that’s a case where anyone involved gets me interested first), as previously stated, it’s usually the premise.
So with this one, I really was looking forward to Infinite because of that. Unfortunately, it was bumped to Paramount+, with a release date set for June 10th.
Sadly this is also the latest case of there being cause for concern as well, because with less than a month before it’s released, the marketing has been virtually nonexistent for this, which can be viewed as a big red flag that the studio practically had no faith in the movie.
That being said, I’m still interested to see what it has to offer, because Mark Wahlberg has a solid supporting cast to back him up. However, when I eventually do get around to seeing it, it’s better I go into more detail with them in the review.
Moving on from Paramount+ to Disney+ for my next point, we have another case of their simultaneous release strategy, where the movie in question gets released in theaters and on Disney+ (with Premier Access, of course) on the same day.
For this one, we have Jungle Cruise. The reason why this approach was taken again here is because theaters in other countries like Brazil and other international markets remain closed due to the Delta variant running rampant in said markets.
It seems to have not been as severe for the domestic markets, so it looks like the release date of July 30th is going to hold for this one, only there’s an additional option now to watch it for those who don’t feel safe going back to the theaters yet.
To bring this update full circle, we go back to both services for my final point.
As I alluded to earlier, Disney announced something that I viewed as a response to Paramount putting their movies out in theaters first, and then making them available on Paramount+ after 45 days.
That announcement was that they’re basically doing the same thing with two other upcoming movies, those being Free Guy and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. They stated that they’re committing to having them in theaters only for 45 days, and then put them out on Disney+ afterwards.
Given how predictable it is at this point for studios to try each others’ strategies, it would not be surprising in the least if everyone decides to try this, so whether or not that does indeed happen, check back here for further updates.
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