In announcement news today, Disney has just officially set Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Cinematic Universe Edition 4K Ultra HD on 3/6, with the digital and Movies Anywhere release set for 2/20. Extras on the Blu-ray will include an introduction by director Taika Waititi, audio commentary by Waititi, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, the Team Darryl short, and several featurettes (including Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years, Getting in Touch with Your Inner Thor, Unstoppable Women: Hela & Valkyrie, Finding Korg, Sakaar: On the Edge of the Known and Unknown, Journey into Mystery, and a pair of 8bit Scenes). The digital release will include exclusive content of its own, including additional deleted scenes, and the Evolution of Thor and Hulk’s Bromance featurettes. There will also be retail exclusives, including Steelbook packaging at Best Buy and an exclusive book at Target. No word yet on an Amazon exclusive if any, nor is there word yet of a US Blu-ray 3D retail exclusive. There is, however, a Blu-ray 3D available for pre-order in the UK. Note that the 4K UHD will feature Dolby Atmos audio, while the Blu-ray versions will feature English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. There’s also no word of Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K disc, so assume HDR10. You can see the Blu-ray packaging above-left.
While we’re taking 4K Ultra HD, Paramount has officially confirmed the 4K release of Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane on 1/23. Audio will be Dolby TrueHD on the original film and Dolby Atmos on the sequel.20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has set Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/27, with the digital and Movies Anywhere release expected on 2/20. Audio on the Blu-ray versions will be Dolby Atmos. Extras will include audio commentary by Kenneth Branagh and Michael Green, 11 deleted scenes, 8 featurettes (Agatha Christie: An Intimate Portrait, Let’s Talk About Hercule Poirot, Unusual Suspects: Part One, Unusual Suspects: Part Two, Unusual Suspects: Part Three, The Art of Murder, All Aboard: Filming Murder on the Orient Express, and Music of Murder), a gallery, and theatrical trailers.
Lionsgate has set Wonder for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/13, with the digital release expected on 1/30. The 4K disc will feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby TrueHD audio. Extras on the Blu-rays will include audio commentary with Stephen Chbosky and R.J. Palacio, the 5-part Summer of Fun documentary (includes A (com)Passion Project, Family Matters, A Technical Wonder, A Note of Kindness, and We All Deserve a Standing Ovation at Least Once in Our Lives), along with 3 more featurettes (A Child’s Sense of Wonder, What a Wonderful World, and Wonder Soundtrack: Behind-the-Scenes), and the Brand New Eyes music video.
In regular BD news, Lionsgate has set Hellraiser: Judgment for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/13. The studio will also release the actioner 24 Hours to Live, starring Ethan Hawke, on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/6. And Jawbone will arrive on DVD and digital from the studio on 1/23.
Cinedigm will release Gangster Land on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/16.
Universal will release Aliens Ate My Homework on DVD and digital on 3/6.
And for music fans, Eagle Vision will release OneRepublic: Live in South Africa on Blu-ray and digital on 2/23.
Finally today, in news from CES 2018, we’re learning that at least some 4K Ultra HD player manufacturers will be able to update their 2017 player line-ups to HDR10+ compatibility via firmware. Specifically, we’ve learned that Samsung plans to update their M9500, M8500, and M7500 players at some point in the first half of this year. Sony has no plans to do so, of course, as they support Dolby Vision. But we’re waiting to hear back from Panasonic and Oppo, both of whom we suspect are likely to have HDR10+ updates to their players at some point in 2018 as well.We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for several of the titles mentioned above (click to pre-order them on Amazon.com if available)...
Back with more tomorrow. Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)