Bob Chapek Shares Why 'Shang-Chi' and 'Free Guy' Won't Be on Disney+

Bob Chapek Shares Why ‘Shang-Chi’ and ‘Free Guy’ Won’t Be on Disney+. New details were revealed this week by Disney CEO Bob Chapek during the Quarter 3 Earnings Report, including a new celebration called “Disney+ Day” will see new and exciting titles join the Disney+ roster on November 12th, and the reason both Free Guy and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will premiere exclusively in theaters.

Chapek shared, “As you probably recognize, we live in a very uncertain world in terms of the recovery of some of our markets, and the theatrical exhibition world is certainly a part of that. We said from the very beginning that we value flexibility and being able to make as last-minute calls as we can, given what we see in the marketplace. Certainly, when we planned our schedule that we’re executing right now, we did not anticipate — nor do I think anybody — the resurgence of Covid with a Delta variant that would have such a significant impact on the marketplace.”

He continued, “We value flexibility, and we value following where the consumer is going to go. While some of that’s uncertain, I think that in terms of relative to the rest of the market is, you see that we’ve got more flexibility in terms of how to program. Nothing is in stone because the marketplace is rapidly changing, but at some point, you have to put a stake in the ground and say: ‘This is what we’re going to do.'”

“On Free Guy, obviously this is a title that we acquired under a different distribution assumption and set of agreements, so we don’t have the degree of freedom to do that,” he elaborated, “On Shang-Chi, we actually think it’s going to be an interesting experiment for us because it’s got only a 45-day window for us. The prospect of being able to take a Marvel title to the service after going theatrical for 45 days will be yet another data point to inform our actions going forward on our titles.”

Further explaining, “[Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi] was planned on being [opened] in a much more healthy theatrical environment,” added Chapek of the latest installment in the connected Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Unfortunately, due to distribution agreements that we have, and due to just the practicalities of last-minute changes, it wouldn’t be possible [to release Shang-Chi on Premier Access].”

Free Guy is now in theaters, and Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will premiere in theaters on September 3rd. Be sure to check back here at Chip and Company for all things Disney!

Featured Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios / Marvel Studios

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