Tom Hanks wrote and stars in the upcoming WWII high-seas thriller Greyhound. We got our first look at the movie a few months ago, before the world we live in became a complete mess, and we really liked what we saw. It felt epic and intense and starred America’s Dad. Who wouldn’t love that?
Sony was pitching Greyhound as a big summer blockbuster and scheduled the movie to open on May 7. Then it was moved to Fathers Day. Both of those dates were obviously altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we are hearing that Sony won’t debut the film in theaters at all. In fact, Greyhound will now premiere on Apple TV+ instead. That’s a massive change for the movie and a massive get for Apple.
Deadline says Apple doesn’t have a release date set for Greyhound yet but whenever it does premiere, it will easily be Apple’s biggest launch yet. So far Apple TV+ has only released shows and smaller movies, building a steady catalogue of more high-brow but less-talked-about fare. Greyhound will mark Apple’s attempt to really break into the same ranks as Netflix and Disney+. Acquiring a blockbuster movie starring one of the biggest stars of all time shows just how serious they are.
Apparently, Sony started shopping Greyhound around awhile ago as the coronavirus pandemic utterly wrecked Hollywood’s release schedule. While there have been quite a few movies that shifted to streaming during COVID-19, seeing Greyhound take that route is a tad surprising because Sony had a sure-fire hit on their hands here. Americans love WWII movies and Americans love Tom Hanks. Sony would have had a smash whether they released it this fall or winter or whenever.
It’s doubly surprising to see Apple get ahold of Greyhound because they have been out of the equation when it comes to large acquisitions. That has been to their detriment, seeing as how Apple TV+ has yet to really break though and become a major player in the streaming landscape. This is a sign that they are tired of sitting on the sidelines. What other movies will Apple buy up next?
While a release date isn’t finalized, apparently Greyhound is on the way soon. So fear not, dear readers, you’ll have new Tom Hanks in your life in short order. Well, as long as you are already an Apple TV+ subscriber…