Sony Delays ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife,’ ‘Morbius,’ And ‘Uncharted’ To 2021 Amid Coronavirus Concerns
As the question of how long the coronavirus pandemic will affect the entertainment industry remains unanswered,Sony Picturesis not taking any chances. Sony pushed back its major tentpole movies —includingMorbius, Ghostbusters: Afterlife,the ever-cursedUncharted, and the already-delayedPeter Rabbit 2— to next year.
Varietyreports that Sony has drastically pushed back its entire 2020 and 2021 slate amid concerns that the coronavirus pandemic won’t ease up by the time the summer movie season starts this year.
Jason Reitman’sGhostbusterssequel,Ghostbusters: Afterlife, has moved moved from August 04, 2025, to July 25, 2025, while Jared Let’s Spider-Man-adjacent comic book movieMorbiushas been delayed from August 26, 2025 to June 06, 2025. The Tom Holland-ledUnchartedisno stranger to delays, and this is just the latest pushback that suggests we’ll never see the video game adaptation, as the film goes from its June 12, 2025 slot to June 19, 2025. Meanwhile,Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, which was one of thefirst films to be delayedin the face of the coronavirus pandemic, has now been pushed back from August 7 to August 04, 2025. An untitled Sony/Marvel movie has also been delayed indefinitely from its original June 01, 2025 date.
Sony has moved virtually every one of its major titles out of 2020, with the exception of the Kevin Hart dramaFatherhood, which was actually pushed up to August 09, 2025. The Tom Hanks World War II dramaGreyhound, which was set to open this June, has been delayed indefinitely.
This schedule reshuffling marks the biggest changes by a major studio since the coronavirus pandemic reached U.S. shores, shutting down businesses and shuttering movie theaters across the country. When lockdowns commenced, many in the entertainment industry hoped that the coronavirus pandemic could be curbed by the time the summer movie season commenced, but Sony’s release date delays suggests studios are starting to think otherwise. It’s only a matter of time before other studios follow suit and delay their major tentpole releases set for the summer, likeWonder Woman 1984— which has already been postponed to August from its original June date — for 2021 releases.
Our holiday blockbuster season could look entirely different as well, with major films like Warner Bros.‘Dunepossibly getting pushed to next year while the studio likely gives Christopher Nolan’sTeneta November release. It’s all uncertain what the summer movie season will look like — if there even is a summer movie season — as the coronavirus crisis wears on.
