2021 to see movie delays, 'Morbius' will lead the pack
2021 has started with another round of movie delays. Even though we're slowly getting vaccinated, we would still not get to see movies in theaters, at least Hollywood ones. Morbius is starting this fresh entertainment blackout. The Jared Leto-starrer film has undergone three release delays already; first on July 10, 2020 to July 31, then March 19, 2021 and now to October 8, 2021.
Morbius, a biochemist, is part of Sony's Spider-Man franchise
Morbius is a character in the Sony-supervised Spider-Man franchise, with the character being a Sony property in the larger Marvel universe. The film deals with a biochemist named Michael Morbius who inflicts a form of vampirism within himself during his quest to find a cure to a rare blood disease. The character made its debut in comic book, The Amazing Spider-Man #101.
In key entertainment hubs, hospitals are reaching their capacities
Analysts detailed out reasons that may have forced Sony to push Morbius further. The first and most obvious one is that the pandemic is still not under control, with hospitals in key entertainment hubs like Los Angeles are operating with low strength. The situation is so bad there that ambulance operators are being told not to bring in COVID-19 patients with slim survival chances.
Sony doesn't have a streamer, has only two options
The other reason behind this move is Sony Pictures doesn't have a dedicated streaming platform. So, it can't unload its big-screen-worthy films to a sustainable base of subscribers. Thus, there are only two options for the studio: Either delay the film until the pandemic is contained or sell the film to existing streaming giants, which doesn't seem to be the chosen path.
'Black Widow' may be released simultaneously in theaters, Disney Plus
Meanwhile, its rivals, MGM and Universal, which are hoping for big returns from Daniel Craig's last Bond movie, No Time To Die, haven't commented on the situation. There is also a rumor floating about Marvel's Black Widow facing a fate of simultaneous release in theaters and Disney Plus for a premium price, if it misses its May 7 release date. Can't help but wait!
