Former Disney CEO Bob Iger says the studio may send some of its delayed movies straight to Disney+, similar to what it recently did with Artemis Fowl. The studio, like the rest of Hollywood, has been forced to revamp its release slate for 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic over the last few weeks. Beginning in March, the Mouse House moved big-budget tentpoles like Mulan and Black Widow off the calendar while simultaneously postponing the films it acquired from Fox (like The New Mutants) from their previously-scheduled dates in April and May. After that, Disney unveiled a brand-new release plan for the next couple years, including its Phase 4 MCU movies.
As part of its release dates announcement, the studio also revealed it would be sending its Artemis Fowl adaptation straight to Disney+, rather than releasing it in theaters as originally planned. This was the first time Disney had decided to cancel the theatrical run for one of its movies and make it a Disney+ exclusive since the streaming service launched in the U.S. last November. It might not be the last one, either, according to Iger.
In an interview with Barron's, Iger (who's now serving as Disney's executive chairman after stepping down as CEO earlier this year) provided some insight into how the Mouse House is dealing with the ongoing health crisis. According to him, "a few more" Disney films may go straight to Disney+ after Artemis Fowl, "but for the most part a lot of the big tentpole Disney films, we’ll simply wait for slots." He also talked briefly about the studio's decision to release certain movies "onto Disney+ faster than we would have", with Frozen 2 and Onward being the best-known examples.
While Iger didn't name names, there are a few Disney films that seem like obvious candidates to go straight to Disney+. The biggest one is arguably The One and Only Ivan, an adaptation of K. A. Applegate's children's book tentatively scheduled to open in August. A movie about a gorilla (voiced by Sam Rockwell) who lives with other animals in captivity at a shopping mall, The One and Only Ivan has yet to kick-off its marketing and would have to compete against Disney's Mulan at the box office in its current spot, making a change to its release all the more likely to happen. It's also the type of mid-budget film based on lesser-known family friendly source material that perfectly fits the Disney+ brand coming after exclusive movies like Lady and the Tramp and Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, so the move would make sense in multiple regards.
For the same reason, Disney is unlikely to release something like New Mutants straight to Disney+. The horror-flavored superhero movie simply isn't a strong match for the service's Originals brand and, unlike Artemis Fowl, it's not an in-studio production tailor made to fit Disney's all ages appropriate image. Delayed Fox titles likes The Personal History of David Copperfield (despite being rated PG) are equally unlikely to go straight to Disney+ for similar reasons and will probably be re-dated at some point later this year. Of course, that could change as the Mouse House continues to adjust its plans to the current health crisis, so watch this space for further Disney+-related updates.
Source: Barron's