This summer’s cinema blockbusters found themselves largely cancelled this year
due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
While Christopher Nolan’s Tenet bucked the trend and hit the big screen in August, the lion’s share of major releases have been pushed back until 2021 and beyond.
Without the necessary tentpole productions to guarantee sales following six months of shutdown, cinema chains including Cineworld and The Regal have opted for temporary closures, while Odeon and Vue have announced reduced opening hours. The future’s not looking bright for cinema.
Now, as further productions push back their release dates due to COVID-19, here are some of the movies you will be waiting even longer to see.
Bond fans must wait until next year for Craig’s final flic. Pic. Universal Pictures
Daniel Craig’s much publicised final outing as 007 has faced numerous delays and mishaps along the way, but news that it would no longer hit the screens this year has been a big blow to cinema.
It has now been pushed from November 2020 to April 2021.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman is waiting in the wings
The new Batman film, in which Twilight star Robert Pattinson makes his debut as the Dark Knight, has also seen several postponements.
Originally slated for Summer 2021, before being pushed back to the end of the year, Warner Bros now say it won’t arrive until March 2022.
There were even reports that Pattinson himself had tested positive for coronavirus during delayed filming in the UK.
Timothee Chalamet stars in Dune
Sci fi epic Dune, starring actor-of-the-moment Timothee Chalamet, will now open in October 2021, instead of this December.
The reboot of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel has much to live up to following David Lynch’s 1984 movie, which although a box-office flop at the time, is now considered a cult classic.
Even the dinosaurs can’t avoid COVID-19. Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock
Jurassic World: Dominion
The dinosaur action film had been set to launch in July 2021, but has been biffed down the line by nearly a year to June 2022.
Filming in the UK has been hampered due to positive coronavirus tests on set.
Avatar 2
James Cameron’s sequel will now not be out until December 2022, delaying our return to Pandora by a year and a half.
With plans in place for five Avatar movies in total, in theory there will be three more sequels to come after that, but no doubt not for quite some while.
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in Avengers – Age Of Ultron
Starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz, the Marvel film will hit cinemas on 7 May 2021, a year later than originally planned.
This makes 2020 the first year since 2009 in which a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie hasn’t been released.
Eternals
Another Marvel film, Eternals is due to be the first big screen appearance for a group of immortal superheroes that made their comic book debut in 1976.
Originally set for release in November 2020, it will now hit cinemas a year later on 5 November 2021.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Yet another film from Marvel, this is its first Asian-American superhero film, with little known actor Simu Liu cast in the lead role, starring alongside Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina and Tony Leung.
Now Black Widow has snaffled it’s May 2021 slot, it’s found itself pushed back to 9 July 2021.
Top Gun: Maverick is delayed for six months. Pic: Paramount Pictures
Fans who have waited 34 years for Tom Cruise to return to the skies as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell now have to wait a little longer, with the release postponed until 2 July 2021.
West Side Story
Steven Spielberg’s big screen musical adaptation will launch a year later than expected, on 10 December 2021.
A Quiet Place II
Starring husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, the 2018 horror film was a surprise box office hit. The sequel has now been pushed back to 23 April 2021.
Ecto-1 returns in the new Ghostbusters film. Pic: Sony Pictures
This sequel – 36 years after the original – stars Paul Rudd and Bokeem Woodbine and includes appearances from the originals Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
It will now arrive in US cinemas on 5 March 2021, after originally being scheduled for July 2020.
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Morbius
A Spider-Man spin-off starring Jared Leto as the titular vampire, it has been pushed back from July 2020 to 19 March 2021.
The Many Saints Of Newark
The Sopranos prequel film was set to launch in September this year, but has been pushed back to March 2021.
Vin Diesel will be fast and furious again – eventually
F9
The ninth in the Fast and Furious franchise, starring Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Dame Helen Mirren and John Cena, has been moved from May 2020 to May 2021.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
The sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange, with Benedict Cumberbatch at the helm, has been moved from May 2021 to March 2022 by Marvel.
Elvis
Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, has been delayed by a month to November 2021.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in Thor
Thor: Love And Thunder
The fourth instalment in the series about the god of thunder will see Natalie Portman playing a female Thor.
Directed by Oscar winning Taika Waititi, its release has been postponed from November 2021 to February 2022.
Indiana Jones 5
Harrison Ford is once again due to reprise one of his most famous roles, but not for a bit longer. Originally set to launch in the summer of 2021, it has now been pushed back to July 2022.
Keanu Reeves returns for the fourth Matrix movie
The Matrix 4
And after all those delays, let’s end on a glint of hope. After an initial postponement of one year, the Matrix sequel has now confirmed it will be in cinemas four months earlier than expected.
Keanu Reeves will be back on the big screen playing Neo in December 2021, and not April 2022 as initially announced.
No pressure Keanu, but make it good…