Despite growing concerns around the COVID-19 Delta variant, Disney is committed to releasing Shang-Chi exclusively in theatres for the previously announced 45-day window, thanks to locked-in partnership agreements.
During today's earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek responded to an investor question from an investor about potentially delaying or pausing upcoming theatrical releases by saying the company "values flexibility" and did not anticipate the resurgence of COVID via the Delta variant.
However, he added, "at some point, we have to put a stake in the ground."
The questioner followed up by asking why Disney wouldn't just add premier access on top of the theatrical release — effectively offering viewers a chance to watch in the safety of their homes if they wanted to avoid crowded movie theatres.
"On Shang-Chi, we think it's actually going to be an interesting experiment for us because it's got only a 45-day window for us," Chapek said. "So the prospect of being able to take a Marvel title to the service after going theatrical with 45 days, would be yet another data point to inform our actions going forward on our titles.
"But once again, I'll refer back to my previous answer, when we planned Shang-Chi, that title was planned on being in a much more healthy theatrical environment, and at this point unfortunately due to distribution agreements that we have and due to just the practicalities of last-minute changes, it wouldn't be possible."
Shang-Chi debuts in theatres on September 3 and has previously been announced for the 45-day theatrical exclusivity before coming to Disney+. Today's commitment from Disney to waiting for the film's release on streaming services comes after the company got flack from theater owners for Black Widow hitting a box office slump in its second week of simultaneous release, and after Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for breach of contract related to the same issue.
Meanwhile, we got a look at six new character posters last week for Shang-Chi including Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Awkwafina's Katy, Tony Leung's Wenwu, and others, and have an explainer ready for those less familiar with the film's hero.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.