It look as though the next few months will be quite a barren spell for moviegoers. Amid the COVID-19 panic, which was recently declared a worldwide pandemic by WHO, recently saw the postponement of a slew of upcoming highly-anticipated movies across a number of studios in Hollywood within a span of just 48 hours.
The main reason why movies have been postponing their release dates is due to several factors. Firstly, a lot of countries are starting to go on lockdown, banning all manner of mass gatherings. This means that any form of promotional material planned for upcoming Hollywood movies, which usually involves red carpets, would count as such, and therefore would have to be cancelled altogether. Secondly, this also means that theatres across many countries, especially Italy, South Korea and China, have closed down to contain the spread of the virus.
Among the slew of previously-confirmed delays, MGM’s No Time to Die has been delayed from April to November, and Mission: Impossible 7 ‘s production in Italy was cancelled due to the country’s lockdown. There was even the case of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson testing positive for COVID-19 amid filming Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley film.
Without further ado, here’s the list of big-name movies, with their new release dates, that have been delayed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The new release dates have been indicated in parentheses.
Fast and Furious 9 (2 April 2021 in the US, April 2021 globally)
The only one in this list to get a confirmed updated release date, the long-anticipated ninth entry in the Fast franchise, Vin Diesel released a statement via the movie’s official Twitter account about Universal Studio’s intention to move the release of the movie by a year. Fast and Furious 9‘s original release date was supposed to have been 22 May 2020 (21 May in Singapore).
Whether or not this affects the production and release of Fast and Furious 10, which Diesel hinted at the possibility of a two-parter, remains to be seen. For now, fans will have to find some other way to entertain themselves for nearly a whole year before catching Fast and Furious 9.
A Quiet Place II (TBA)
Paramount Pictures was also quick to pull the plug on A Quiet Place II, just a week . The highly-anticipated sequel starring Emily Blunt has been taken off the release calendar, and has yet to have a new release date. It was originally scheduled to release on 20 March 2020 (19 March in Singapore).
“After much consideration, and in light of the ongoing and developing situation concerning coronavirus and restrictions on global travel and public gatherings, Paramount Pictures will be moving the worldwide release of A Quiet Place Part II,” the studio told CNN in a recent statement. “We believe in and support the theatrical experience, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences this year once we have a better understanding of the impact of this pandemic on the global theatrical marketplace.”
Mulan (TBA)
Disney’s live-action Mulan movie has been taken off the company’s release window as well, despite already made its world premiere earlier this week. Its delay was not just felt in the US (27 March), but also in the rest of the world including Singapore (26 March).
Like many of Disney’s delayed films this year, a new release date for Mulan has yet to be announced.
The New Mutants (TBA)
Just when we thought we’d finally get to watch The New Mutants, it has been delayed… again. Originally slated to release on 3 April (2 April in Singapore), the COVID-19 situation didn’t do any favours for the upcoming mutant horror spinoff movie, sadly. This, then, marks the fourth delay for Josh Boone’s troubled X-Men film.
No release date for The New Mutants has been announced, as Disney is on the lookout for a potential new release date, hopefully in 2020 still.
Antlers (TBA)
Disney’s other upcoming horror film, Antlers, was supposed to release on 17 April (16 April in Singapore) this year, but was also subject to the COVID-19 panic. And, like Mulan and The New Mutants before it, the Guillermo del Toro-produced film has yet to find a new release date.
Though we’re uncertain whether these movies are the only ones to get delayed in the coming weeks and months, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more delays soon, as COVID-19 continues to run rampant across the globe.
Interestingly, the Disney movies above that were delayed were all slated to come out within March and April. However, Black Widow, which releases not long after Antlers, is still a go for its intended release date on 1 May (30 April in Singapore). Whether or not the Scarlett Johansson-led movie will get delayed is still up in the air at this point.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
Natalie
Trinity Sun
