In the race for the most shocking news of 2020, in regards to the film industry, that is, we have already sent the trophy to WarnerMedia for its massive announcement that the studio’s entire Warner Bros. 2021 film slate was getting sent to HBO Max the same day as theaters. But maybe, that was a bit premature because we still have Disney to consider. And this week, it’s being reported that the studio has some big announcements up its sleeve.
READ MORE: Disney Considering Streaming Release For ‘Cruella’ & Others But Not For ‘Black Widow’
According to Deadline, Disney’s forthcoming December 10 investors’ call is likely going to be a pretty big deal. For those not familiar with what Disney’s quarterly conference calls consist of, the studio usually goes over its financial data regarding the theme parks and film/TV output. It can be a dry affair, for sure. But this week’s call is expected to have some potential fireworks.
The report claims that the previous speculation that Disney is planning on sending Emma Stone’s upcoming film “Cruella,” as well as the Tom Hanks-led “Pinocchio” and the forthcoming “Peter Pan and Wendy” live-action films, to Disney+ will be officially announced. Sure, that’s not as soul-shattering to theater owners as WB’s announcement, but it’s still just a bit of a knife in the heart, right? But the real news could be what else is announced.
There is speculation that Disney is also going to formally announce a new slate of Marvel Studios, Pixar, and Lucasfilm projects that will be hitting both Disney+ and the big screen. What these projects could be is anyone’s guess. Could we get an official announcement about the next “Star Wars” film (presumably directed by Taika Waititi)? How about Kevin Feige’s “Star Wars” film? Are there secret Marvel projects that we don’t know about? And obviously, Pixar is the leading name in animation, at this point, so anything newsworthy there is going to attract some attention.
So, why would Disney make these announcements on an investors’ call? Clearly, the studio wants to show the shareholders that there are exciting things in the pipeline for 2021 and beyond, as well as its continued commitment to supplying Disney+ with major projects. But also, in light of what WarnerMedia announced with its WB slate, the studio wants to show it still has a commitment to the big screen, as the exhibition business accounts for billions of dollars yearly for Disney.
We have a few days to prepare for whatever Disney has up its sleeve. So, get to speculating!