New Keanu Reeves Movie Will Skip Theaters, Go Straight To Streaming

Keanu Reeves has become an absolute sensation over the past few years, mostly thanks to playing the titular character in the John Wick franchise. Not to mention the fact that he also seems to be an incredibly good human being.

Along with assuring the success of the aforementioned Wick series, Keanu is also set to reprise his role as Neo in The Matrix 4, while long-awaited sequel Bill & Ted Face the Music will be touching down soon as well. But the Speed star actually has another movie before all that. Or should we say, had another movie before all that.

You see, Reeves is set to show up in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and it was originally on course to hit theaters on August 7th – after already being pushed from May 22nd. But now the Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon release will be skipping cinemas altogether and going straight to digital.

Specifically, it’ll be coming to CBS All Access, with a premiere pegged in for early 2021. No exact date has been announced just yet, but here’s what the company had to say about it:

“We are thrilled to have The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, a premier, first-run movie from one of ViacomCBS’ biggest brands, join CBS All Access’ expanding slate of franchise content from across ViacomCBS,” Marc DeBevoise, chief digital officer at ViacomCBS and president and CEO of ViacomCBS Digital, told Variety. “This launch will be perfectly timed with our continued expansion and planned rebranding of the service in early 2021, as we welcome SpongeBob and the gang from Bikini Bottom to the service in the biggest way possible.”

Of course, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is just one of many, many films to have made the decision to skip theaters in light of the recent pandemic. And it surely won’t be the last. In fact, there’s still speculation that the aforementioned Bill & Ted Face the Music will also end up giving up its theatrical release. But for now, at least, it’s holding steady.

We can’t say the same for the new SpongeBob movie, though, and while it’s a shame that we’ll now have to wait a bit longer to see it, Keanu Reeves fans will surely be happy that they’ll get to view the flick from the comfort of their own homes.