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What 2021's Movie Release Slate Looks Like Now
A flurry of release date changes and delays has shaken up the 2020 movie slate, and here's what the 2021 movie release schedule looks like now. Coronavirus has been at the forefront of everyone's minds for the last few weeks, and the disease has had a profound impact on the movie industry. Theaters are shut down in several countries around the world and will likely continue to remain closed for several more weeks (if not months), while most productions have been halted as well.
It didn't take long for the 2020 movie calendar to be altered because of these circumstances. Films like No Time to Die and Wonder Woman 1984 vacated early summer release dates and planted their flags in new fall/winter slots instead. But, many other titles were postponed indefinitely. This list includes some of the most anticipated films of 2020, with Black Widow, Mulan, A Quiet Place Part II, and others now without release dates. Although the hope is that most of these titles can still come out in a re-arranged 2020 slate, several studios have already decided to push their big 2020 releases an entire year.
Next year's movie release slate was already highly anticipated, given the number of franchise movies releasing in 2021, and the list has continued to grow because of the coronavirus-related delays. However, multiple 2021 films might not hit their intended release dates either since productions are shut down. For now, here's what the 2021 movie slate looks like.
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway - January 15
Sony's Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is the rare case of a film being delayed twice due to coronavirus. After leaving its April 2020 release and moving to August, the studio recently decided to postpone the sequel another few months. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is now slated to release on January 15, 2021 and features the returns of Rose Byrne, Domnhall Gleeson, and the voice of James Corden.
Mortal Kombat - January 15
The James Wan produced Mortal Kombat reboot has yet to be affected by coronavirus. Production began and ended in 2019, which now means the film should be able to move forward as planned if various aspects of post-production can be done by crews remotely. One of the producers of the film recently verified that the status of Mortal Kombat has not changed so far, so it is still scheduled to release on January 15.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings - February 12
Marvel Studios' plans to release Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021 have not changed yet. After beginning production in Australia in early 2020, all filming has come to a halt. Initially, the production was shut down as director Destin Daniel Cretton had a precautionary COVID-19 test, which came back negative. Still, Shang-Chi was among a group of Disney titles that were no longer allowed to continue filming. It's currently scheduled to come out in February 2021, but that might change if production can't resume soon enough or if the entirety of Phase 4 shuffles.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife - March 5
Instead of opening in the summer of 2020, Sony has pushed Ghostbusters: Afterlife to March 5, 2021. Directed by Jason Reitman, the film picks up decades after Ghostbusters 2 and will feature many of the original Ghostbusters cast members in smaller roles. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, and Paul Rudd otherwise, and the new release date gives Reitman more time to fine-tune the film in post-production.
