Dun Dun Dunnnn. In just six weeks, Wonder Woman 1984 is set to be released in theaters on Christmas. However, Warner Bros. execs are debating whether to shift the hotly awaited superhero sequel to the summer of 2021 or to continue to carry the film on its theater premiere on Dec. 25 and then bring it on the HBO Max streaming service at the beginning of January, according to sources with knowledge of Warner Bros. plans.
The status of the much-awaited superhero sequel has been in question since the pandemic struck by COVID-19 in March, moving the film’s theater release from June 5 to Aug. 14, and then to Oct. 2, which then was eventually moved to Dec. 25. COVID-19 cases have been on the rise at unprecedented rates across the country.
Warner Bros. is facing the looming threat of another widespread closure, particularly in major urban areas that fuel the vast majority of the cinematic industry. A, however, brief theatrical release it may be the release could still help exhibitors at the edge of bankruptcy and stimulate subscription growth for HBO Max, which has failed to contend against streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Plus, who have enormous audiences.
Attempting to push the theater release again always was a possibility for Wonder Woman 1984, given the pandemic and the rise of cases. In a September interview with Variety about the film costar Pedro Pascal, co-writer-director Patty Jenkins made it apparent that COVID was essentially guiding her movie’s future.
“I don’t think anybody can be confident of anything right now,” Jenkins said. “We just don’t know what the course of COVID is going to be like.”
The one unboundedly obvious is that Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t going to miss the theater experience completely. Jenkins has made it pretty clear and made no secret that she crafted her movie for the big screen and profoundly believes it deserves to be seen there.
Warner Bros. representative declined to comment on “conjecture” about the plans for the movie. However, they did say in one straightforward statement: “WW84′ will be in theaters.”
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