It wasn't that long ago that Amazon Studios announced a recent acquisition for a sci-fi action film starring Chris Pratt, a pretty nice project to grab considering Pratt's star-power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not unlike Netflix's recent acquisition of the Knives Out sequels, The Tomorrow War was originally intended to release in theaters but was picked up by streaming after the pandemic hit and theater releases became a risky venture.
The plot of the film is a basic alien invasion concept, but with an interesting twist. Time travelers from the future arrive on Earth with a warning: 30 years in the future, humanity will face an alien threat against their very existence, and it's a war that they're losing. With humanity facing extinction, the only hope is to recruit people from the past to join the fight and save Earth.
RELATED: How The Pandemic Helped Netflix Acquire 'Knives Out' Sequels
Protagonist Dan Forester, played by Chris Pratt, is a school teacher who joins the cause and teams up with his estranged father in order to save the planet for his daughter. It's a unique setup that could lead to lots of interesting twists and turns within The Tomorrow War itself. Time travel is a tricky plot device but if used correctly, it makes for some great storylines that lead to all sorts of creative scenes.
While the news broke a few months ago that Amazon had picked up The Tomorrow War for $200 million, there hadn't been many words on whether the release plans were changing or if something new was planned for the movie. Now, it has been reported that The Tomorrow War will indeed become an Amazon streaming exclusive and has a release window of summer 2021.
With the current release date set for July 2nd, The Tomorrow War is a long way off from its initial Christmas 2020 release, but that's to be expected given the current state of theatrical releases. Still, it seems that Amazon will not hold out for theatrical windows and is happy to keep the film on streaming, with no current news on any alternative distribution plans.
Between this and the earlier Knives Out news, there seems to be an interesting trend of theatrical IPs deciding to switch over to streaming, even as the pandemic starts to wind down. Whether this trend will continue once vaccinations are fully rolled out remains to be seen, but it's possible these films are signaling a new trend in what kind of projects can come to streaming rather than theaters.
The Tomorrow War releases for Amazon streaming on July 2nd.
MORE: 10 Things You Need To Know About Amazon Prime's Invincible
Source: Amazon Studios/Twitter