As the long-delayed The King's Man approaches its March premiere, a new rumor suggests the film could be bought up by a major streaming service—unless Disney chooses to push it back further.
Variety noted that with Mar. 12 fast approaching, Disney has yet to begin a major marketing push for the prequel film in the Kingsman franchise. What's more, with COVID-19 still surging across the U.S. and theaters at a reduced capacity or closed entirely, it's unclear if a theatrical release this spring is even feasible. As such, Disney could push back the date yet again or choose to send it straight to streaming (or have a hybrid debut). But given the R-rating of the movie, it seems Disney+ would be an unlikely home. Hulu, owned by Disney, could release the movie, but a rumor indicates another major streaming service is looking to buy the rights from the House of Mouse.
The first two Kingsman movies are currently streaming on FuboTV and FXNow, the latter of which is owned by Disney. It's possible that Fubo is the secret bidder, but a Hulu debut seems more likely given the model was successful for HBO Max's hybrid launch of Wonder Woman 1984. If that's the case, it will finally give an indication as to what Disney will use Hulu for: releasing its R-rated content and other media it doesn't think will fit the family-friendly model of Disney+. Moving forward, the recently announced R-rated Deadpool 3 could find a similar home on Hulu, as could subsequent films in the growing Kingsman universe.
Marketing for The King's Man was going strong in the summer of 2020, with a trailer in June and numerous photos from the film and posters. At the time, it was scheduled to release in September after previously being moved from February 2020 and November 2019 before that. Recently, the film was pushed back from February 2021 to its current March release date.
Based on the comic book series The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, the Kingsman film franchise began with 2014's Kingsman: The Secret Service starring Colin Firth and Taron Egertons. A sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, debuted in 2017 and introduced the Statesmen, the America equivalent to the British spy group. The Statesmen are set to get their own film, with Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges and Halle Berry reprising their roles from The Golden Circle. A third film in the main franchise is also being planned, with Firth and Egerton set to return.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, The King's Man stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou and Charles Dance. The film is slated to release Mar. 12, 2020.
Source: Variety