From 'Batman' to 'Top Gun': Film delays that have fans gutted

The Batman: The ongoing coronavirus crisis has pushed back the release dates of many Warner Bros. films, including Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Robert Pattinson-starrer, which was earlier scheduled to hit the big screens on June 25, 2021, will now release on October 1, 2021. The release of the film has been postponed owing to the production delays due to the shutdown of the entertainment industry caused by the spread of COVID-19.

Mulan: Despite hosting a red carpet premiere, Disney delayed the release of it’s live-action ‘Mulan’ remake last month. But in a note of optimism that North American movie theatres could reopen sooner rather than later, ‘Mulan’ — the tale of a legendary Chinese warrior — is now tentatively set to launch July 24. Here’s keeping our fingers crossed.

Black Widow: Another Disney film that rolled over was the highly anticipated origin story of Marvel superhero Black Widow. ‘Black Widow’ starring Scarlett Johansson, the first of the new “phase” of the record-breaking superhero franchise, will now debut in November.

The Eternals: Naturally, if 'Black Widow' got the push, then it was expected that Marvel would push the rest of its films further down the line. The star-studded Eternals, featuring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington (and half of Hollywood), vacated its November slot for Black Widow and will now release on February 12, 2021.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness: Marvel’s 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness', the much-anticipated sequel to the 2016 Benedict Cumberbatch film, has been pushed back from November 5, 2021 to March 25, 2022. As expected, when one Marvel film changes track, others are forced to follow.

No Time to Die: The global release of the new James Bond film ‘No Time to Die’ was one of the first major projects to be postponed from April until November, amid an outbreak of coronavirus. “The film will be released in the UK on November 12, 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25, 2020,” a posting on the official James Bond Twitter account said last month.

A Quiet Place 2: We were mere days away from the release of the sequel to John Krasinski’s dystopian horror, before the shutdown commenced. Now fans will have to wait until September 4 for A Quiet Place 2 to release, with Emily Blunt reprising her role.

Vanguard: The release of Jackie Chan’s latest film ‘Vanguard’, filmed partially in Dubai, was pushed back in January due to the deadly coronavirus breakout in China. All worldwide releases of the film have been postponed. Studios behind seven upcoming Chinese releases, originally meant to screen during the lucrative Lunar New Year holiday, made the decision to delay their films to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus in cinema halls. Chan was in Dubai in March of last year to film ‘Vanguard’. A new date of release for the film has not been set.

Wicked: The smash-hit Broadway production was finally headed to a cinema near us, but looks like ‘Wicked’ fans are going to have to wait even longer to see Stephen Daldry’s film adaptation of the popular musical. Universal Pictures announced that another handful of theatrical release dates are shifting due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has bumped ‘Wicked’ off the calendar entirely for the moment.

‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’: Another Universal Pictures release, which was unable to be finished for its planned summer 2020 release because of the outbreak, is being pushed back a year to July 2021.

F9: Last month, Universal Pictures also announced its Fast and Furious sequel ‘F9’ will now open next year, on April 2, 2021. The Fast and Furious movies are always big earners at the domestic and international box office and the absence of ‘F9’ will impact the 2020 box office in a major way. The past two films have made over $1 billion.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife: Another reboot that had fans of the 80s classic all excited suffered a setback when Sony Pictures decided to shift its entire roster of films due to the pandemic. What fans had hopped would have been a summer blockbuster this year has now shifted to March 5, 2021.

Wonder Woman 1984: Another superhero movie that has taken a hit is the Gal Gadot starrer ‘Wonder Woman 1984’. In a tweet, director Patty Jenkins confirmed the delay, writing: “We made Wonder Woman 1984 for the big screen and I believe in the power of cinema. In these terrible times, when theater owners are struggling as so many are, we are excited to re-date our film to August 14th 2020 in a theater near you, and pray for better times for all by then.”

Top Gun: Maverick: Even Tom Cruise can’t outmanoeuvre the virus. Paramount’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, a sequel to Tom Cruise’s 1986 classic, also took a hit and pushed its release date from June 24 to December 23, 2020. We keep hoping.

Mission: Impossible Sequels: The next two much-awaited chapters in Tom Cruise’s action spy adventure franchise, have been delayed. According to Variety, the seventh part will now open four months later on November 19, 2021.

Spider-Man sequels: The sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, along with the third instalment in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy, have each been delayed. While the former film will now be released on October 7, 2022 instead of April 8, 2022, Tom Holland’s final movie in the Homecoming trilogy will open on November 5, 2021 instead of July 16, 2021. Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage has also been pushed and will now open on June 25, 2021 instead of October this year.

Sooryavanshi: The release of Bollywood’s star-studded film ‘Sooryavanshi’, starring Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Ajay Devgn and Katrina Kaif, was one of the first few Bollywood films postponed due to the coronavirus. “We have been as excited as you are to present the film to you and your family, but due to the recent outburst of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we the makers, have decided to postpone the released of your film Sooryavanshi, keeping in mind the health and safety of our beloved audience,” said a message posted on its production house Reliance Entertainment’s social media page.

Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar: The Parineeti Chopra-Arjun Kapoor caper also took a hit when Yash Raj Films announced the release of the film was being put on hold in light of the virus. “Given the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country, we have decided to postpone the release of Dibakar Banerjee’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. The health and safety of everyone is of utmost importance at this time,” tweeted Chopra in March.

'83: The much anticipated sports drama directed by Kabir Khan was originally slated for an April 10 release. But fans would have to wait to see India’s historic cricket World Cup win in 1983 with the Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone-starrer, now slated for an August 30 release. Those expecting ‘83 to release on a streaming platform in the coming months have a long wait coming, with producers Reliance Entertainment denying such rumours.