No movie release looms larger than Wonder Woman 1984: it’s a major blockbuster and sequel to a proven critical and box-office success. Scheduled for a (potential) Christmas premiere, this could be the seat-filling cinematic experience that the movie industry is (literally) dying for.

And yet, it seems that the movie, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, won’t be getting a big open followed by weeks in the theaters, thanks to – of course – the pandemic. There are two scenarios floating around regarding the release of WW84.

With just six weeks left to go until the proposed December 25th launch dates, studio execs from Warner Bros. are purportedly in talks to do one of two things. First, they could push back the release date (yet again) to June or July 2021.

This is nothing new. The Wonder Woman sequel has already been postponed numerous times, first from June 5 of this year to August 14, then again to October 2, and finally to Christmas Day.

All of that was done in anticipation of things getting better, when in actuality COVID-19 cases are spiking at alarming rates across the country. Warner Bros. is facing the reality of another widespread shutdown, especially in major cities that comprise the majority of theater-goers.

This will require Warner Bros. to yet again rejigger their release schedule next year. To make space for WW84, the studio will probably reschedule The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (scheduled for June 4, 2021) or LeBron James-led Space Jam: A New Legacy (due to premiere July 16, 2021.) But next summer’s schedule is really not all that crowded; it is more of a do-over of the 2020 summer lineup.

This alternative kicks the film can down the road yet again, in the hopes that this time, things really will get better. It could happen; after all, the country will be under new leadership soon and a vaccine may be available to all by next summer. But will that be enough to save theaters, which are already on the brink of collapse?

That leads to the second scenario: premiere in theaters as planned, but only briefly. The studio will pull the movie after two weeks and then allow its new streaming site HBO Max to air it from then on out.

This will provide much-needed salve for a wounded theater industry, which will benefit from even a limited release right now. And it will prop up HBO Max, which has yet to offer any big draws the way the summer broadcast of the live original cast performing Hamilton drew in viewers for Disney Plus.

While theaters and HBO Max might enjoy the benefits of this plan, is it really good for the Wonder Woman franchise? HBO and HBO Max combined have only 38 million subscribers and only 8 million of those are for HBO Max, making it one of the smallest streamers out there. By comparison, Disney+ has 79 million paying customers.

And HBO Max isn’t available outside the United States, so that’s another loss. HBO Max debuted other films, like Witches and Scoob! to some success, but Wonder Woman has the ability to draw in up to a billion dollars in revenue. Should the studio sacrifice that much potential? They don’t have a bigger movie in the pipeline right now; wasting this opportunity might be a huge mistake.

As of right now, nothing has changed officially, so this is all just speculation. What do you think? Should Wonder Woman 1984 come out now only to be relegated to streaming after a fortnight? Or are you ready to wait some more for the sort of summer blockbuster we were denied this year? Let us know in the comments!