Universal Studios is making up for lost time after its HD DVD debacle with news this morning of an aggressive release schedule for its first Blu-ray titles through the end of the year.

Universal had been the only major studio to release HD DVDs exclusively, so it was the most severely affected when that format lost the high-def disc war. (Paramount had released titles in both formats before being persuaded to go HD DVD-exclusive.)  Uni’s move to Blu-ray has been hotly anticipated.

The Blu-ray release getting the biggest push is the second season of Heroes, which is slated for Aug. 29. The first season, previously issued on HD DVD, is due on the same day.

New feature films due later in the year on Blu-ray include The Incredible Hulk, Doomsday, Wanted, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mamma Mia! and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. To prop up the release of the latter, Uni will reissue The Mummy, The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King July 22 on Blu-ray — all previously available on HD DVD.

Other HD DVD titles being brought back on Blu-ray include American Gangster, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Miami Vice, End of Days, U-571 and Land of the Dead. Other reissues are expected. There’s no word yet on catalog titles making their high-def debut on Blu-ray. The reality is that Universal issued so many new and catalog titles on HD DVD that it will be playing catch-up for a while.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 11:12 am and is filed under DVDs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.