The coronavirus outbreak has shown that not even superheroes are immune, as studios scrambled to cancel or postpone their summer movie blockbusters.
This caused a crazy reshuffle of release dates throughout 2020 and into the early months of 2021.
The virus also tossed a colossal spanner into the works of movies already in production, such as James Cameron’s back-to-back Avatar sequels, which had to stop shooting in New Zealand.
Now, as Malaysians welcome the news of cinemas reopening on July 1, many of 2020’s most anticipated major movies have announced new premiere dates.
BUZZ takes a look at the revised release calendar for the rest of the year - and when Malaysian moviegoers can expect them to reach our shores.
Mulan
Original release date: March 27, 2020
Disney had high hopes for this live-action reboot of Mulan, investing northwards of US$200 million (RM855 million) into the project. Helmed by New Zealander Niki Caro, the movie stars the lovely Liu Yifei as the titular character with an ensemble cast boasting some of the biggest names in Asian cinema: Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li and Jet Li.
Revised release date: July 24, 2020
The New Mutants
Original release date: March 27, 2020
This cursed X-Men spinoff was originally slated for release in 2018, but ended up stuck in production hell, and had its release postponed four times before landing its new release date in August. This horror-esque take on the teen comic book heroes stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Maisie Williams.
Revised release date: Aug 28, 2020 (maybe ... )
Wonder Woman 1984
Original release date: April 2020
Warner Bros tried its best to keep to Wonder Woman 1984’s release date, only pulling the plug on March 24 at the height of coronavirus fears. While other studios decided to push back some of their biggest releases to 2021, Warner Bros was adamant on getting the Wonder Woman sequel into theatres this year, with several dates proposed and announced before settling on an October release.
Revised release date: Oct 2, 2020
Black Widow
Original release date: June 2020
Disney has finally settled on a date for Marvel’s Black Widow after a quick reshuffle of the ENTIRE Marvel Cinematic Universe which includes previously announced Phase 5 movies - Captain Marvel, Thor, Black Panther and Doctor Strange sequels.
Revised release date: Nov 6, 2020
No Time to Die
Original release date: May 1, 2020
Poor Daniel Craig! He will have to wait a little longer to hang up his tuxedo as the pandemic effectively threw the release of No Time to Die, the 25th film in the series, into limbo.
For years, the actor has made it known how miserable he was in the role, and it showed. An empty martini glass would have delivered a better performance than Craig did in 2015’s Spectre.
But rejoice, Craig will finally be put out of his misery (and ours) on silver screens in the UK on Nov 12 and the US on Nov. 20!
Revised release date: Nov 20, 2020
Top Gun: Maverick
Original release date: April 2020
And finally, we have the sequel nobody asked for ... Top Gun: Maverick which was supposed to plague moviegoers with the sight of Mr Cruise’s gigantic ... ahem ... fighter jet back in April. Since he missed the summer, Mr Maverick will now aim to spoil your Chrismas holidays! HO HO HO!
Revised release date: Dec 23, 2020
