As the world begins to see widespread vaccinations and things start to open back up, there is now an avalanche of release date changes for many major studio tentacles releases.
According to Deadline, there will be quite a few major shifts happening for major film studios including Paramount, Sony, and Universal. Release date changes are fairly standard for big releases, but to see so many happening at once is almost unprecedented. The global pandemic has done a number on the global box office, so many of these changes are likely to make sure these releases are happening as audiences feel safe returning to see things on the big screen again.
One of the biggest jumps is Paramount’s Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. The film was planned to release on October 22, 2021, until recently, but has now jumped forward several months to a new July 23, 2021, release date. This is the first film in the G.I. Joe franchise since 2013’s G.I. Joe Retaliation and looks to be both a spinoff and a reboot of the franchise with an all-new cast taking on roles we have previously seen on the screen including Samara Weaving as Scarlett, Ursula Corberó as The Baroness, Andrew Koji as Storm Shadow, and Henry Golding as our titular hero Snake Eyes.
Paramount was quick to slide the newest chapter of their Jackass film series back several weeks from September 3, 2021, to Snake Eyes’ former release date of October 22, 2021. No reasoning was given for this change, although it is once again likely due to the idea of more theaters having their doors open again by then.
Keeping the ball rolling, Paramount and Skydance’s long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick has taken off from its originally planned July 2, 2021, release date and safely set down its landing gear for November 19, 2021, where it is likely to get in front of more viewers theatrically. Paramount is looking for this film to be one of their biggest releases and has high expectations for it to do well at the box office, but is the box office ready for all of that?
This brings Top Gun: Maverick into direct contention with Paramount’s other major Tom Cruise centric blockbuster, Mission Impossible 7, which means that the seventh sequel in the long-running Mission Impossible series is now being pushed back to Memorial Day weekend of next year with a new release date of May 27, 2022. The problem there is that it now brings that film into direct competition with Paramount’s upcoming Dungeons And Dragons film. This has caused that film to be pushed back even further into the schedule with a new March 3, 2023 release date.
Paramount has also announced that their planned eighth installment of the Mission Impossible series (currently being developed simply under the title Mission Impossible 8) has been moved from its November 4, 2022, release date to July 7, 2023.
We also got word that Sony is moving their family friendly Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway forward several weeks from its planned July 2, 2021, release to a June 18, 2021, release. No reason was given for this date change. The first Peter Rabbit (2018) brought in an astounding $351 million against a budget of just $50 million so its sequel is sure to perform well in this now wide open corner of the box office.
Doubling back a little bit, with Top Gun: Maverick and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway now pushed back several months it leaves July 2, 2021, wide open for alternative releases. Universal Studios is stepping in to take the reins with The Forever Purge on July 2, 2021. The Purge franchise is as popular as ever, so giving this long-awaited sequel a long holiday weekend as the only new release is sure to spell success for the new film.
While these sudden changes are numerous, it is likely that they will not be the last major shifts on the theatrical release schedule in the foreseeable future. Honestly, it probably won’t even be the last scheduling change for some of the films mentioned here! As the world adjusts and re-opens in the wake of the global Coronavirus pandemic, few things are truly certain.
Are you ready to get back into movie theaters? Or do you think that these films should either further delay or release for streaming at home? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for more movie updates!
