Warner Brothers mulls future of Wonder Woman 1984: Another delay or HBO Max?

With the slated Christmas release of Wonder Woman 1984 looming, Warner Brothers is pondering what to do with the sequel – a lengthy delay or an HBO Max release?

Highly anticipated sequel Wonder Woman 1984 has seen its release date pushed back multiple times thanks to the raging coronavirus pandemic that is keeping audiences from movie theaters worldwide. (And several of those theater chains are now in rather dire financial straits as a result.)

The film was originally slated for a June release, before being pushed back to August, then October and, now, Christmas. There seems little reason to believe that it won’t be delayed for a fourth time. After all, most major studios seem to have already abandoned the winter and spring release seasons as it is.

But the real question is – what’s next? Well, that’s apparently what Warner Brothers is currently pondering, according to a recent Variety report. The question on the table, it would seem, is whether or not to table the film until next summer, likely more than a year after its original release date, or to give it a splashy HBO Max streaming debut in January.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise once more around the globe – but especially here in America – many fear that more extended shutdowns and gathering restrictions are likely on the horizon. And an HBO Max premiere would drive subscriber growth for the platform, which has had issues building an audience and competing with the likes of Disney+.

Wonder Woman 1984, however, was predicted to be a billion-dollar film at the global box office, and it’s hard to imagine how it makes up that kind of money in mere HBO Max subscriptions. Mulan’s somewhat tepid Disney+ performance would seem to serve as a cautionary tale in this regard.

But director Patty Jenkins has repeatedly stressed her desire for audiences to see the film on the big screen – and to be quite honest, that’s what Diana Prince deserves. (It is also, after all, what Marvel is doing with their upcoming Black Widow solo film.)

According to the Variety report, it sounds unlikely that Wonder Woman 1984 won’t see some level of theatrical release at some point. Whether that will be a limited screening later this year, or a big-ticket push next summer is up in the air – and the real question appears to be whether or not the film will arrive on HBO Max first. We’ll all have to wait and see.

What do you think is the right move for Wonder Woman 1984? Would you rather hold out for a theatrical release? Or watch the film on HBO Max?