Hollywood studios pull ‘The Batman’ ‘Morbius’ and more from release in Russia amid Ukraine invasion

The film industry is taking action against the conflict caused by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, pausing the release of multiple, highly anticipated films, such as ‘The Batman,’ ‘Turning Red,’ ‘Morbius,’ ‘The Lost City’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2.’

Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros have joined forces to stop the release of their long awaited films in the Eastern European country.

“Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming Turning Red from Pixar,” a Disney spokesperson shared to Entertainment Weekly, as the animated movie was set to be released in Russia on March 10.

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Warner Bros. went on to reveal their plans to stop the release of one of the most anticipated movies of the year, set to premiere this Friday.

“In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film The Batman in Russia,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson said, explaining that they “will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves. We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.“

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Another major worldwide release is ‘Morbius,’ following the success of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ fans of the franchise are excited to watch Jared Leto on the big screen, however Sony paused the scheduled release in Russia this April.

“Given the ongoing military action in Ukraine and the resulting uncertainty and humanitarian crisis unfolding in that region, we will be pausing our planned theatrical releases in Russia,” Sony stated, adding that their “thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted and hope this crisis will be resolved quickly.”

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Paramount also confirmed that theatrical releases of the animated film ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ and ‘The Lost City,’ would stop, declaring that they “stand by all those impacted by the humanitarian crisis across Ukraine, Russia, and our international markets and will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.”