After trying a simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access release with “Black Widow” in July, Marvel Studios is returning to theatrical only engagements for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”.
That film will open in cinemas in the first week of September before heading to Disney+ (without Premier Access) in mid-late October.
Then in early November comes the “Eternals” movie which, until now, seemed to be locked in for a theatrical only release as well. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, however, has now hinted the situation isn’t so set in stone.
Speaking with Variety at the “Shang-Chi” world premiere this week, he was asked whether “fans be watching #Eternals at home or at the theaters?” to which he responded: “I think a theater would be my preference and [Eternals director] Chloe [Zhao’s] preference. We will see where we go with it.”
That’s the first hint that Marvel may shift back to the ‘Premier Access’ model and will likely so do depending on how “Shang Chi” goes at the box-office combined with how the Delta variant of COVID-19 outbreak impacts the world.
Still, Feige says he’s fully committed to the theatrical experience: “I love the movies. I love going to the movies. I love making movies for people to see in a shared environment in a theater together. To us, that’s what it’s about. The hybrid release can also be good – you want customers to have a choice. In this case, the choice is in theaters for 45 days.”
Check out a full in-depth piece on “Eternals” just published at EW.
