Artemis Fowl Movie Plans Changed: Disney+ Tapped For Premiere

If you were planning to catch the upcoming feature film Artemis Fowl in theaters, think again. In light of widespread theater closures, Disney has made the decision to bring the movie directly to the small screen on its Disney+ streaming service. This is a deviation from some of Disney's recent plan changes, which have included postponing the theatrical release of movies until a later time.

The Artemis Fowl movie is based on the novel series with the same name from author Eoin Colfer. The upcoming fantasy movie was scheduled to premiere in theaters on May 29 in the US, but plans have changed. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has impacted movie theaters and production teams around the world.

We've seen multiple movies like Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and The Invisible Man debut on digital video early. Some movies that were planned for free release in March and April have already been postponed until later this year; some, like Wonder Woman, have new release dates while others have simply been delayed indefinitely.

According to Variety, Disney has made the decision to skip the Artemis Fowl theatrical release and bring the movie straight to Disney+, making it available to everyone who has signed up for the streaming service. The decision isn't terribly surprising — the movie's May 29 release date was itself a delay from the originally planned release in late 2019.

With many viewers staying home and consuming far more digital content, a streaming release may be a good way to draw new subscribers to the Disney+ service. Artemis Fowl is one of a very limited number of new movies that will skip a planned theatrical release entirely in favor of streaming; the other two include The Lovebirds and Trolls World Tour.