With the Coronavirus situation continuing to play havoc with cinema release dates, resulting in most of 2020’s movies either being delayed or put directly onto Disney+, according to Deadline, Disney is now starting to rethink some of its future releases.

Several family movies are now in the running to be moved directly to Disney+, rather than a cinema release, either as Premier Access or as a way of boosting subscribers.

The 101 Dalmatians live-action prequel, Cruella, which stars Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, is being considered for a potential Disney+ release.   The movie finished filming in late 2019 and was originally going to be released in cinemas at this years Christmas; however it was pushed back to May 28th 2021.

Two other movies that are now potential new Disney+ Original movies include the live-action version of Pinocchio, which will be directed by Robert Zemeckis and star Tom Hanks.

With the live-action version of “Peter Pan”, called “Peter Pan & Wendy”, also now under consideration to move over to Disney+.   This version of the story is set to be directed by David Lowery (who previously directed the Pete’s Dragon remake), with Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi set to play Tinker Bell.  “Peter Pan & Wendy” due to begin filming in March 2021 in New Zealand and has previously been considered to be a Disney+ Original.

Disney released its annual financial results last week. With losses in almost every division due to the Coronavirus, Disney+ was the one highlight of Disney’s past year, pulling in over 73 million subscribers globally.  This has forced Disney into fast-tracking its plans for its direct to consumer business, with Bob Chapek announcing major reshuffles within the company and stating their focus is now on streaming.

It’s going to take a long time for cinemas to recover from the effects of the Coronavirus, with 2021’s release schedule packed with movies, plus no guarantee that 2021 will see consumers return to screens, streaming has now become the main way people consume Disney content.

No official announcement has yet been made regarding these movies moving directly to Disney+ as future plans release plans are still being discussed, but it’s not a huge surprise to hear more movies will be skipping theatres.    On Christmas Day, Pixar’s “Soul” will be heading directly to Disney+, while “Wonder Woman” is skipping theatres and going to HBO Max.

Do you think these movies will be coming directly to Disney+?

 

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Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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