WIRE Buzz: Scoob! heads straight to VOD; Spaceship Earth enters the BIOSPHERE; more

Scooby-Doo is the latest animated critter to avoid the theater, after the Trolls took their World Tour straight into fans’ homes. But it’s no mystery why: the coronavirus pandemic is keeping theaters closed. Scoob!, the origin-inclusive feature for the longtime pup sleuth, is heading straight to VOD — and into the eyeballs of some content-craved kids.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. won’t be waiting for theaters to possibly reopen, in order to definitely bring Scoob! to its audience in May. Because many theaters aren’t even speculating a reopening date before late June, the decision would be either to delay the film until later in the year or release it digitally. WB opted for the latter.

That means Scoob! — which features the voices of Mark Wahlberg, Zac Efron, Jason Isaacs, Will Forte, and Amanda Seyfried — will be taking its Hanna-Barbera universe to the realm of the $19.99 rental occupied by Bloodshot and Trolls World Tour.

“While we’re all eager to be able to once again show our films in theaters, we’re navigating new, unprecedented times which call for creative thinking and adaptability in how we distribute our content,” said Warner Bros. chairman-CEO Ann Sarnoff in a statement. “We know fans are eager to see Scoob! and we’re delighted we can deliver this feel-good movie for families to enjoy while they’re home together.”

Scoob! will be available for rental ($19.99) or purchase ($24.99) on May 15.

Next, nothing’s more timely for a time filled with isolation and quarantine than a film about the BIOSPHERE 2. The real-life experiment to make a self-sustaining environment in Oracle, Arizona is coming to fans via a twisty new documentary by NEON: Spaceship Earth. Think Bio-Dome, but way more messed up.

Directed by Matt Wolf, Spaceship Earth dropped its first trailer today and it promises science, cultish behavior, and some utterly weird turns. Turns out a lot went down over the course of its first two-year mission (from Sept. 26, 1991 to Sept. 26, 1993).

Check it out:

That could be the rest of the world as stay-at-home orders continue to keep fans stuck inside. Everyone’s growing their own food, right?

Spaceship Earth is out on May 8.

Finally, those looking for even more throwback sci-fi fun need look no further than In Search of Tomorrow, the latest documentary from journalist/filmmaker David Weiner (he also made the horror doc In Search of Darkness).

Weiner is Kickstarting the ‘80s science fiction deepdive, which fondly recollects such high points as “Vader’s redemption, Ripley’s duel with the Alien Queen, Roy Batty’s ‘Tears in Rain’, and many more” fan-favorite moments from the premiere decade for modern nostalgia.

Some of the doc's confirmed interviewees include Alex Winter (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure), Keith David (The Thing), Clancy Brown (Highlander), Shane Black (Predator), Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop), John Carpenter (Starman), Sean Young (Blade Runner), Henry Thomas (E.T.), Sam J. Jones (Flash Gordon), Lance Guest (The Last Starfighter), and many more.

The crowdfunded project has already exceededed its $39,695 goal, and hopes to deliver a digital version of In Search of Tomorrow as early as July 2021.