If there was any film that has been having trouble getting into theaters for the past few years it’s the upcoming X-men spin-off film, The New Mutants. The film was initially set for release back in April of 2018, only to be delayed three times with the film still never having seen the light of day. The most recent delay was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as now the film has been put on hold indefinitely. With the film’s release constantly being shift around, many were thinking the film would be released on VOD or a streaming service like Disney Plus or Hulu. However, Disney has stated that the film’s theatrical release is still planned despite the ongoing delays. 

The rumored VOD release was especially apparent when New Mutants ended up being listed on Amazon.com for pre-order, which made many assume that the film will be direct to digital. However, that pre-order posting was actually a mistake as the film is still intended for a theatrical release. There hasn’t been too much detail on why Disney is still set with releasing the film in theaters, but many could assume to avoid any controversy with certain theater chains.

With the success of Trolls: World Tour on digital, this caused AMC theaters to boycott films from Universal Studios due to not respecting the theatrical window that movie theaters rely on in the age of streaming. With Disney still planning on theatrical releases for many of their high profile releases this year including Mulan, Black Widow and Soul, it makes sense for Disney to avoid damaging any relationship they have with theater chains for the time being.  Disney wants to maintain their loyalty with movie theaters and not take the easy way out that streaming offers, even if it means continuing the struggle of this film’s troublesome release schedule.