As the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic continue to wreak havoc with the theatrical industry, Disney was forced to shift several big hitters around the release calendar. After months of speculation, Black Widow has finally been confirmed for a hybrid debut, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster arriving on Disney Plus Premier Access the same day it hits the big screen in July.
Origin story Cruella was also afforded the same treatment, while the comic book franchise’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was pushed back to September, and several titles acquired as part of the Fox merger were delayed as well. Action prequel The King’s Man is now slated for December, erotic thriller Deep Water has moved to January 2022, and mystery sequel Death on the Nile is arriving next February.
Another casualty is Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy, which was originally set for July 2020, but was shunted an additional couple of months to this coming August. We’ve been waiting so long for the video game-inspired blockbuster that Reynolds has shot Red Notice and The Adam Project for Netflix in the interim, and the actor has now posted a video mocking the latest change, which you can check out below.
We figured it out! #FreeGuy 👕 pic.twitter.com/fLOd9gqvk0
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 23, 2021
This isn’t the first time Reynolds has made fun of the regular Free Guy delays, and at this stage there’s no guarantee it’ll be the last. After all, the summer season is beginning to clear out once again, meaning that we could be facing a second consecutive year with a severe dearth of big budget entertainment. Free Guy certainly looks as though it possesses the potential to be a major hit, though, so let’s just hope it sticks to that August release.