Los Angeles: These movies have been huge crowd pullers when they hit the screens. However, now the wait for the sequel of these films will get longer due to the coronavirus pandemic. Movies like Avatar, Star Wars and Top Gun have always stirred our imaginations and audiences can’t wait for more of them. However, audiences will have to wait a year more for a trip to Pandora or a galaxy far, far away. This is because Disney has pushed all the sequels to James Cameron’s Avatar movies and Star Wars franchise by a year.
Cameron reached out fans with a statement, detailing the move amid the changing COVID-19 situation across the world.
“There is no one more disappointed about this delay than me,” Cameron wrote on Instagram. “What most of you likely don’t know is that the pandemic is still preventing us from being allowed to recommence most of our virtual production work on stage in Los Angeles. That work is just as critical to the films as the live-action work,” Cameron added.
Avatar 2 has been moved from December 17, 2021, to December 16, 2022; Avatar 3 from December 22, 2023, to December 20, 2024; Avatar 4 from December 19, 2025, to December 18, 2026; and Avatar 5 from December 17, 2027, to December 22, 2028, according to the ‘Hollywood Reporter’.
Theatres in most of the places remain shut in the US and the rest of the world as COVID-19 cases continue to climb everywhere.
Disney has also taken Mulan off the theatrical release calendar. The adventure epic, directed by Niki Caro, was previously scheduled to release August 21, after being pushed from March to July.
“Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis. It today means pausing our release plans for Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
Similarly Tom Cruise’s much anticipated sequel to Top Gun and John Krasinski-directed A Quiet Place Two have been delayed by next year.
Both movies were part of a release date shakeup from Paramount, Thursday.
A Quiet Place Part 2” starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, will release in theaters April 23, 2021, instead of September 6, 2020 while Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to 1986 classic, is now slated for July 2, 2021 instead of its original date of December 23, 2020.
“We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres,” ‘Variety’ reported quoting Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson, and president of international theatrical distribution Mark Viane.
“We are committed to the theatrical experience and our exhibition partners, and want to stress that we are confident that, when the time comes, audiences everywhere will once again enjoy the singular joy of seeing Paramount films on the big screen,” they said.
The release shuffle for Top Gun: Marverick, ‘Variety’ noted, had to do with Cruise’s schedule as the actor plans to shoot the next two Mission: Impossible movies back to back.