With Covid-19’s impact on society not dissipating anytime soon, Hollywood has once again pushed back some big movies. In the wake of No Time To Die being re-delayed until April 2021, Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune – originally due for a December release – has now been pushed back until October 1, 2021.
The movie had been due to arrive a week before Christmas, but Warner Bros. recently moved Wonder Woman 1984 to Christmas Day, which complicated matters. The studio believed that the marketplace could support multiple tentpoles during the holidays, but not in a year like this.
Villeneuve is said to have been very supportive of the decision, and he and the studio both agree that Dune should be seen on the big screen, so don’t expect a VOD release at any point. Plus, the studio can’t take a bath on the film anyway, since it cost so much. So this is a health-conscious move, but also a financial one too.
Dune‘s new date was when Matt Reeves‘ The Batman was set to arrive, but that has now been delayed as well. That movie has moved from October 2021 to March 4, 2022. Production on the film has been frequently interrupted by COVID-19 outbreaks and delays.
That delay has forced Warner Bros. to shuffle a bunch of their other big releases. The Matrix 4 actually moves up from its original April 2022 date to December 22, 2021, while The Flash moves from June 2022 to November 4, 2022. Shazam! 2 moves from that November date all the way to June 2, 2023, while Black Adam, originally looking at a Christmas 2021 release, is now undated.
The Dwayne Johnson DC movie was supposed to begin filming this summer, but coronavirus delays mean that it’s now eyeing a start-date in the first quarter of 2021. Don’t expect it to stay undated for long, as Warner Bros. is probably still figuring out its calendar, but all these delays prove that, just like the rest of the world, Hollywood will be feeling the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic for a long time.
#Peace.Love.Dune
