Back in January, it was reported that Amazon was in talks to acquire sci-fi blockbuster The Tomorrow War from Paramount. Well, the deal has gone through, though not for quite as much as Paramount was asking for. The studio was looking for around $200 million, but Amazon were able to acquire the Chris Pratt-led actioner for around $125 million.
The film will now eschew a traditional theatrical release and debut on Amazon Prime this summer on Friday, July 2.
It’s a shame the film won’t be seen in cinemas, because it boasts a concept perfectly suited for the big screen. A group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to warn humanity that 30 years in the future, a war is being lost against a deadly alien race that could signal the end of all life on our planet.
A ragtag group of soldiers and civilians are then assembled and sent into the future to join the battle, with Pratt’s high school teacher leading the charge. But humanity has an ace up its sleeve: using new technology, they attempt to draft soldiers from the past to fight in the war. Yvonne Strahovski and J.K. Simmons are also on board in supporting roles.
This is a big move by Amazon, although with the lower price tag and the deal happening in the wake of Netflix paying a whopping $450 million for two Knives Out sequels, it doesn’t seem as exorbitant as it did back in January. It’s a good deal for doing battle in the streaming wars.
It would have been nice to see a big original blockbuster hit the big screen, and it would also have potentially proven whether Pratt truly is a movie star. Sure he’s led some big films, but he hasn’t really proven he can open a movie without a franchise backing him up.
He’s a movie star, but only in the current day application of the word. He’s nowhere near the kind of Tom Cruise/Will Smith/Johnny Depp power of twenty years ago. All his big movies have been propped up by being related to Marvel, Jurassic Park or the LEGO series. The one time he was asked to open a big, original film? Passengers, which barely broke even.
So it’s debatable whether audiences were coming out in droves to see Pratt, or to see the latest instalment of a beloved franchise. The Tomorrow War was perhaps poised to answer that question, but now that it’s debuting on Prime, we may still be having this Pratt debate for years.
Studios selling big movies to streamers, especially during the pandemic, has become a familiar strategy. Amazon have taken advantage more than anyone else. Over the last six months they’ve acquired the Borat sequel, Coming 2 America, and the Michael B. Jordan-led Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse, which hits Prime later this month.
While we won’t get the luxury of seeing The Tomorrow War on the big screen – and with cinemas only just re-opening in a few countries, many may not have been able to anyway – it should still be a big event film. It sounds like a mix of The Terminator, Independence Day, and Edge Of Tomorrow. Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) is directing from a script by Zach Dean.
#Peace.Love.TheTomorrowWar
