Disney has finally gotten around to addressing the fate of Pixar’s next big film, the Jamie Foxx-led Soul. When they dropped a ton of release date changes recently due to the pandemic, they failed to mention the animated movie and its June 19th release date. Would they move it to Disney+ like Artemis Fowl? Or perhaps try to mirror the VOD success of Universal’s Trolls World Tour?
Turns out, the answer is neither. Disney has moved Soul, which centers on an aspiring jazz musician’s journey through the afterlife, from June 19th to November 20th. There’s already a ton of competition around that time. Godzilla vs. Kong is set to stomp into theaters that weekend, but it’s also very close to the releases of Black Widow and No Time to Die. More importantly, it clashes with another Disney movie that is fighting for the very same audience.
That weekend turns out to also be where Disney had set Raya and the Last Dragon, which features the voices of Cassie Steele and Awkwafina. So Disney has decided to move that one from November 20th to March 12th 2021 to avoid conflicts.
Soul is a big movie for Disney/Pixar. Not only does it feature Pixar’s first African-American lead character, but it’s directed by Pete Docter and has an ambitious story on the level of Inside Out. There was no way they would go straight to Disney+ with this one, but if the outbreak continues to hamper theaters, a quicker-than-usual move to digital could be possible. We shall see.
