Casualties of the Coronavirus have already included major conventions, national sporting events, and basically everyone’s work life. (If you work in an office, that is.) Even Tom Hanks has been affected. When No Time to Die officially decided to postpone its release date from April to November in light of the growing pandemic, it seemed to be a cautious move more than anything else.
However, in the past few weeks, the severity surrounding the outbreak of COVID19 has increased. This has led to more canceled events, recommendations from governors to cancel all gatherings of more than 250 people, and even a ban on foreign travel. Suddenly, it only seemed like a matter of time before other 2020 films opening in the vicinity of April and May would follow James Bond’s lead. Today, two major releases did just that, officially announcing their postponement.
A Quiet Place Part II director John Krasinski posted an official note about the delay of the sequel thriller, noting, “One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together,” and that “now is clearly not the right time to do that.” Currently, no updated release date has been determined for the sequel.
#AQuietPlacePart2...Take2 pic.twitter.com/YrCXLLpxjh
— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) March 12, 2020
Meanwhile, Fast 9—the latest installment in the popular The Fast and the Furious franchise—has been moved a full year, from May 2020 until April 2021. In a statement, Universal said, “It’s become clear that it won’t be possible for all of our fans around the world to see the film this May,” before revealing the April 2021 release date. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that April date will fill the spot that was previously reserved for the tenth and final installment in the series.
#F9 pic.twitter.com/agQAFNLm9w
— The Fast Saga (@TheFastSaga) March 12, 2020
As of now, it remains to be seen what other big upcoming releases will be impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. The long-delayed New Mutants is seemingly still on track for an April 3rd release, and given the film has already been pushed back for two years (first to avoid competing with other Fox films Deadpool 2 and Dark Phoenix and then because of the Disney and Fox merger), it’s going to be interesting to see how its release plays out. Black Widow, another long-awaited film, is also holding fast to its May 1st release date as of now. Given that Marvel only has two films coming out this year, it’s a toss-up as to whether or not they’ll play ball with their timeline and move the film to later in the summer. But we wouldn’t be surprised.
May typically marks the kick-off of the summer movie season, a crucial time for all studios financially. It’s also worth mentioning that every film that gets pushed back or moved puts pressure on the release dates of future movies, whether they’ve already been planned or not. The good news is that the later half of 2020 and 2021 are looking like big years for some big films at this point. Something we can look forward to!
Featured Image: Universal Pictures