Attention movie-lovers!
While cinemas in certain countries still remain closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and big movie titles keep shifting global cinematic release dates, there’s still some interesting news from the world of movies which you ought to know.
Here’s a round-up of the big announcements made in July 2020:
20th Century Studios has released a new teaser trailer for the long-delayed The New Mutants.
The New Mutants was produced by 20th Century Fox and writer/director Josh Boone shot the film back in 2017, when it was understood that it would be released as a new Fox Marvel movie akin to Logan or Dark Phoenix. However, the film was consistently delayed and pushed back to the point that when Disney bought Fox, The New Mutants was still unreleased. It’s a ‘holdover’ film that doesn’t have any specific connective tissue to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so fans have been eager to see how Disney would handle it.
The film is currently slated to hit cinemas on August 28 – but Disney/20th Century Studios may continue to hold onto its theatrical release if things don’t improve on the COVID-19 front.
Check out the teaser trailer below:
Read more on this at Collider
Studios continue to move movie premiere dates due to US theatres remaining closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the shifts announced in the month of July 2020:
Tenet (August 12, 2020 to TBD, 2020)
Mulan (August 21, 2020 to TBD)
The Broken Hearts Gallery (August 7, 2020 to TBD)
Bill & Ted Face the Music (August 28, 2020 to September 1, 2020)
A Quiet Place 2 (September 4, 2020 to April 23, 2021)
What About Love (September 25, 2020 to February 12, 2021)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (September 11, 2020 to June 4, 2021)
The French Dispatch (October 16, 2020 to TBD)
Top Gun: Maverick (December 23, 2020 to July 2, 2021)
Image Credits: Ng Han Guan-AP-Shutterstock
Movie theatres in China began reopening in July, and Chinese authorities also gave the go-ahead for cinemas in Beijing to reopen. With about 835 cinemas open across the country (about 12% of the total), the Chinese box office has been steadily climbing in July with films such as Sheep Without A Shepherd, Dolittle, and Bloodshot drawing audiences back to cinemas. More big Hollywood titles are to follow including the anniversary re-release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1917, and Bad Boys for Life.
This is definitely good news for the cinema industry as China was the fastest growing film market in the world prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Read more on this at Deadline
Warner Bros. has taken Christopher Nolan’s latest espionage thriller Tenet off the release calendar due to the surge COVID-19. The film was set to become the first major studio film back in theatres, however, the studio assured fans that the film is still coming to theatres in 2020.
However, Warner Bros. has mentioned that they will be tossing the traditional global day-and-date release, and working on a non-traditional strategy to maintain its commitment to the theatrical experience around the world by first releasing overseas where cinemas have reopened – Europe, Asia, Middle East and 12% of the total in China, for two thirds of the global box office for a blockbuster such as Tenet typically comes from outside the US.
The studio is giving exact release dates, but sources elsewhere say the studio hopes to begin opening Tenet in international markets in late August before it arrives in the US in the first part of September (even if only in select cities).
Fingers crossed for Tenet – the push we’ve been waiting for to jump-start the cinema industry in times of post COVID-19 recovery.
Read more on this at The Hollywood Reporter
With most countries starting to reopen borders, especially Europe, Tom Cruise is hoping to return to Norway with his crew this fall to continue filming Mission: Impossible 7.
The upcoming sequel is back on track with filming and was recently granted permission to start shooting again after being delayed by the pandemic. Cruise is also continuing his plans to make history with the first narrative feature shot in space, and Universal Pictures is in negotiations to land the new film, which will be shot in cooperation with NASA on the International Space Station.
Read more on this at Deadline
Image Credits: The Playlist
Edgar Wright, the beloved filmmaker behind movies such as Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver, has signed on to develop, executive produce, and direct a ghostly film named Stage 13 – an adaptation of one of novelist/screenwriter Simon Rich‘s recent short stories. Despite the presence of a ghost, Stage 13 won’t be a traditional horror film. The film centres on a young, aspiring director who’s plucked from obscurity and hired to direct a movie on major film studio’s backlot – only to discover that the only reason he was given the chance in the first place is because the sound stage is haunted and the studio head is trying to get rid of the ghost, an aspiring actress who still desperately wants to be a star.
Read more on this at /Film
Image Credits: Paramount Pictures
Paramount’s Grease prequel Summer Lovin’ is revving up its engine, with the studio tapping Brett Haley to direct the film. The new movie tells the story of greaser Danny and good girl Sandy’s summer fling, originally hinted at in the song Summer Nights in the original 1978 movie. Leah McKendrick penned the script with Temple Hill and Picturestart producing.
The film will mark Haley’s first film at a major studio after cutting his teeth on the indie and streaming service circuit.
Read more on this at Deadline
Image Credits: Warner Bros
In a live web panel at the first inaugural Justice Con, Zack Snyder revealed that Zach Snyder’s Justice League (The Snyder’s Cut) will be more than 214 minutes and confirmed none of Joss Whedon’s shots will be in this version.
The director didn’t come empty handed, for he shared a brief unfinished clip, along with a few details about the process of completing his film.
Snyder also said that he was in the process working on restoring the aspect ratio of the film back to the full frame, IMAX cut what he originally intended. He also revealed that he’s been collaborating with composer Junkie XL as they complete the score alongside the film’s additional footage.
Justice Con ran from 25 – 26 July 2020 and was organized by The Nerd Queens (Cole and Nana) and Wonder Meg, Justice Con. The event brought together fans, cast and crew members Snyder’s Justice League, and charitable organizations Ink to the People, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, for a series of live panels dedicated to the release of the Snyder Cut and its charity affiliates.
Read more on this at The Hollywood Reporter
Scary movie junkies, rejoice! The year ahead is packed with fright fests that will have you peeking over your shoulder and checking to make sure all the doors are locked — as all good horror movies should.
From modern adaptations of literary classics – Hansel and Gretel and The Turn of the Screw, to new installments in fan-favorite franchises – The Grudge and The Conjuring, and intriguing original tales, the slate of upcoming horror movies offers something for fear seekers from all walks of life.
Here’s a list of the most anticipated upcoming horror movies with release dates set over the course of next year:
The Grudge (January 02, 2020)
Andrea Riseborough will star in this reboot of The Grudge franchise, releasing early next year as a detective investigating the case of a young mother who murdered her entire family.
She later discovers that the mother was influenced by an angry ghost seeking revenge, as is the M.O. of the franchise. Nicolas Pesce, who recently made his directorial debut with the black-and-white horror film The Eyes of My Mother (2016) has been hired to direct the movie as well as rework a draft of the script that the studio has been working from.
Underwater (January 09, 2020)
Underwater hasn’t had the easiest road to theaters. Shot back in the spring of 2017, it’ll be almost three years later when the Kristen Stewart-fronted horror film makes its way into theaters on January 9th, 2020.
The movie follows a crew of underwater researchers who must scramble to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory. Trapped and running out of oxygen, they have to navigate through two miles in the dangerous depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety. Think of it as Armageddon (1998) meets The Abyss (1989).
The film is written and directed by William Eubank who also directed The Signal (2014). It stars Kristen Stewart as Norah Price, Jessica Henwick as Emily, T.J. Miller as Paul, Vincent Cassel as the Captain, and John Gallagher Jr.
The Turning (January 23, 2020)
Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw is one of the most popular and influential ghost stories ever written, and it’s been adapted for the screen numerous times. In 2020, the classic tale will get a new, modern take from the director of The Runaways (2010) – Floria Sigismondi with The Turning.
This version of the story will be set in modern Maine, but will still tell the story of a governess (Mackenzie Davis) tasked with caring for two young children (Finn Wolfhard and Brooklynn Prince) after the deaths of their parents. As she settles in for the job, she begins to suspect the mysterious estate where the family is living may be harboring a number of dark secrets, and may in fact be haunted.
Gretel & Hansel (January 30, 2020)
Starring IT franchise alum Sophia Lillis as Gretel and Silent Hill‘s Alice Krige as the child-eating witch, this twisted retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm story is rife with established horror talent. Journey into the dark wood alongside director Osgood Perkins – I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) for a flipped take on the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale in which Gretel takes the lead and there’s isn’t a gingerbread house in sight.
Fantasy Island (February 13, 2020)
Based on the classic 1970s TV series, Fantasy Island will rely on the same basic premise as the show: People from all over the world travel to a mysterious island where guests can live out their wildest fantasies — for a price. Except this time, there will also be a killer on the loose. Michael Peña will star as the island’s enigmatic host Mr. Roarke, a role originated by Ricardo Montalban.
The Invisible Man (February 27, 2020)
This new take on H.G. Wells’ classic novel will take a curious approach to the source material, which follows Elisabeth Moss as a woman who rebuilds her life after her invisible ex-boyfriend commits suicide, before discovering that her partner might not be dead. It’s a fresh take on the popular story, and one that hopefully provides an interesting spin on the familiar story. It’s also benefitted by being Leigh Whannell’s follow-up to his exceptional sophomore feature, last year’s Upgrade.
A Quiet Place: Part II (March 19, 2020)
After the first film exceeded expectations at the box office, A Quiet Place (2018) screenwriters and director John Krasinski decided to return to the silent but deadly world.
Krasinski is back to direct and Emily Blunt is also returning to reprise her role as Evelyn Abbott, a mother trying to protect her family in a world overrun by large creatures with hypersensitive hearing.
Others reportedly joining the cast include Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou.
The New Mutants (March 19, 2020)
This long-delayed, horror-centric X-Men spin-off has undergone extensive reshoots — reportedly to at least somewhat better integrate it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe — since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in March 2019. But its underlying storyline has seemingly stayed the same. The film, starring Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy and Antonio Banderas, centers on a group of young mutants who are being held against their will inside a secret facility that’s running horrific tests on them.
Candyman (June 11, 2020)
Jordan Peele, the mastermind behind Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) continues his foray into the world of horror with a “spiritual sequel” to Bernard Rose’s 1992 cult classic Candyman, which explores issues of race and class in America. The original movie stars Tony Todd as the titular hook-handed bogeyman, who, according to urban legend, is the undead son of a slave who has haunted Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project since being lynched for having a love affair with a white woman in the late 1800s.
This time around, Todd will return alongside Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who, despite reports to the contrary, director Nia DaCosta – Little Woods (2018) says isn’t taking over Todd’s original role.
The reboot was co-written by Peele and Win Rosenfeld, whose joint production company, Monkeypaw Productions, is producing alongside MGM Pictures.
The Purge (July 09, 2020)
Prepare yourself for yet another government-sanctioned night of lawless violence in The Purge 5, the fifth installment in the horror franchise set in a near-future United States where any and all crime is legal for one 12-hour period per year.
It’s still unclear whether the Everado Gout-directed Purge 5 will be another prequel like 2018’s The First Purge, or explore the fallout from the election in 2016’s The Purge: Election Year.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (September 10, 2020)
The third official installment of The Conjuring series and the eighth movie in the Conjuring universe won’t have series architect James Wan in the director’s chair. Those duties are being handled by Michael Chaves, the director of The Curse of La Llorona (2019).
The movie stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are reprising their roles as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The plot centers around the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who stabbed his landlord to death in the middle of a drunken struggle and claimed in court that he was possessed by a demon.
*Please Note – Movies release dates are subject to change
Which horror movies are you most looking forward to watch in the coming year?
Sources: Looper and Screenrant
