Per a new report by Variety, huge upcoming films such as Matt Reeves‘ The Batman and The Matrix 4 are facing release date delays due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The report states that there’s “an outside chance” that the films make their release dates, but due to production stoppages, it would be a tight squeeze and probably better for everyone if the films were delayed. The Batman is currently scheduled for a June 25, 2021 release. Reeves had reportedly completed seven weeks of filming before having to shut down.
The Matrix 4 is due to be released May 21, 2021, and that one probably requires a lot more post-production visual effects, so Lana Wachowski would have even less time than Reeves to finish her film. Smart money is on a Matrix 4 delay – at least a small one – in the next couple of months, while Warner Bros. might wait and see on The Batman.
The Variety report also mentions another big-budget action film; Rawson Marshall Thurber‘s Red Notice, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds. That has already been filming for two months in Atlanta for Netflix.
The streaming platform doesn’t require as much marketing time as traditional studios do, so it’s possible we could still see that movie by the end of the year if everything goes to plan. That would require a relatively swift lifting of restrictions however, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Another massive film, Mission: Impossible 7, could also see its release date pushed back. That’s currently set for July 23, 2021, but filming was scheduled for Venice right before Italy was hit massively by the coronavirus. That not only forced a delay in production, but possibly a bunch of script changes considering the film was supposed to be set in Italy.
As with most things right now, we’ll have to play the waiting game. Expect at least a couple of the aforementioned films to be delayed, especially because they’re on a tight schedule as it is. When you throw in the amount of effects work needed and marketing time necessary to promote the films, studios would probably be wise to give everyone as much time as possible to complete the films.
Would it have been kind of amazing to have a May/June/July 2021 calendar consisting of Matrix 4/The Batman/Mission: Impossible 7? Sure. But it looks unlikely at this point.
#Peace.Love.Hollywood
