As production delays continue to affect the movie business, many high profile 2021 titles are likely to have their release dates pushed back. This includes two of next year’s most anticipated blockbusters, The Batman and The Matrix 4. There are also plenty of other issues that are cropping up as a result of the production delays brought on by the current situation the world finds itself in. With that, Hollywood will be in problem-solving mode for the foreseeable future.
A new report was recently released that details some of the issues that have resulted from the delays. The Batman, The Matrix 4 and other major blockbusters, such as Netflix’s Red Notice, Dwayne Johnson’s latest, had to pause filming in the interest of public health. Originally, production was paused for two weeks by Warner Bros., but now it’s expected that many of these productions won’t see people going back to work until late April or even May. That could make it challenging for these movies to meet their previously scheduled release dates.
The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson as our new Caped Crusader, is currently slated to arrive on June 25, 2021. Director Matt Reeves had been shooting for weeks in London already when production first shut down. The Matrix 4, meanwhile, which brings back both Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, is set to arrive on May 21, 2021, as it stands. If it gets delayed, that will cancel the Reeves vs Reeves matchup we had going on at the box office next year, as John Wick 4 was also scheduled to come out that same day. Unfortunately, that fascinating showdown seems highly unlikely at this point.
These are just a few examples. Other massive franchise entries such as Jurassic World: Dominion and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have also had to hit the pause button. Another issue that has come up is scheduling with actors. Other projects that are slated to begin filming later this year also have actors that are committed to some of these delayed projects. Scheduling is going to become a major problem moving forward, once things return to some semblance of normalcy. When that is will depend largely on when local and federal governments deem it safe for people to begin gathering in large groups again.
The silver lining is that studios could easily fill these release dates with other delayed movies. No Time to Die and F9 have already locked in new dates after being pushed back, but A Quiet Place: Part II, Mulan, The New Mutants, Black Widow and Minions 2, amongst others, will be looking for a new date on the calendar. Assuming movies like The Batman and The Matrix 4 do have to move, those dates could prove to fertile ground for one of the other previously delayed movies that were supposed to come out this year. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as the situation develops. This news comes to us via Variety.
