As many 2020 movies find themselves pushed to 2021 due to coronavirus, several movies originally set to be released in 2021 may be pushed back to later years. Starting with the delay of the next James Bond movie, No Time to Die, studios have begun delaying summer 2020 movies to either later in the year or simply to 2021, given that there are only a few spots available.
This is made worse by production shutdowns across the industry. Most major studios have shut down all active movie productions until the situation improves, though no one knows when that might happen. Some big 2020 movies, including Fast and Furious 9, Morbius, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife have already been pushed back to 2021. And some studios are aggressively trying to get movies out in 2020, but there will be limited viable release dates left, forcing films to be delayed to next year, causing a massive, industry-wide release date shift.
With several big 2021 movie productions shut down due to COVID-19, their release dates could slip into 2022. Between trying to finish filming, getting through post-production, and finding the right release date, many of the following big movies are likely to be pushed from 2021 to 2022, if not later.
The Matrix 4
![2021 Movies That Will Probably Be Delayed To Later Years](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/The-Matrix-4-Keanu-Reeves-Neo.jpg)
One of the first big movies set to come out in 2021, The Matrix 4, the long-awaited sequel to the late 1990s/early 2000s Matrix trilogy, is directed by Lana Wachowski and set to be released on May 21, 2021. It had been shooting in San Francisco and was about to start filming in Berlin when production shut down.
Warner Bros.” initial reaction to the coronavirus pandemic suggested concern about hitting the release date. WB didn’t delay The Matrix 4′s production until after almost every other major studio had already done so. This would suggest some reticence to slow down and lose that early summer release date that The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded did so well with. Given that all of the Matrix movies are effects-heavy blockbusters that require lengthy post-production and even reshoots, it was probably already running on a tight schedule. If delayed, it could still release later in the year, perhaps in November like The Matrix Revolutions, so there’s a little wiggle room for it to still come out in 2021.
The other major complicating factor is Keanu Reeves’ schedule, especially concerning John Wick 4. Both John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4 are set to be released on May 21, 2021, which seems likely to change now. The plan seemed to be that John Wick 4 would shoot after The Matrix 4, but now that situation is in limbo. The two projects are owned by different studios (Warner Bros for The Matrix, Lionsgate for John Wick), a scheduling conflict between the two could get messy if one or the other doesn’t get delayed significantly. While the current shutdown is the most likely cause of The Matrix 4 getting pushed back to 2022, Reeves’ schedule could also get in the way of production going smoothly.
Jurassic World: Dominon
![Jurassic World Dominion Logo](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Jurassic-World-Dominion-Logo.jpg)
Jurassic World: Dominion is the sixth movie in the Jurassic Park franchise and the third since it was revitalized with Jurassic World in 2015. Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow returns for this installment, currently set to release on June 11, 2021. Jurassic World: Dominion was about a month into filming when it was shutdown, and that production delay is likely to push it back into 2022.
Comparing to previous movies, Jurassic World‘s principal photography ran between April and August 2014, for a June 2015 release date. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was filmed from February to July 2017, coming out in June 2018. Since Dominion started filming in February, that suggests it was looking to wrap production in July, giving nearly a year for post-production. Jurassic Park movies need long post-production due to the amount of CGI needed to supplement the animatronic dinosaurs that are the main draw of the series.
Hitting the June release date is also a big concern. Every Jurassic Park movie has come out between May and July, with both Jurassic Park and Jurassic World setting the biggest opening weekend record with that summer release date, so Universal is unlikely to want to move it out of the summer. If it’s delayed, even if it could be released later in the year, Dominion is likely to come out in summer 2022 instead.
There’s also a possibility of conflicts with actors, especially for Chris Pratt and his commitment to the Marvel movies. If the Guardians of the Galaxy appear in Thor: Love and Thunder or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally gets into production, Pratt’s scheduling conflicts could become a sticking point for Jurassic World: Dominion.
The Batman
![The Batman Robert Pattinson Batsuit Cape](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/The-Batman-Robert-Pattinson-Batsuit-Cape.jpg)
The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson and directed by Matt Reeves, is currently set to come out on June 25, 2021. After filming in London since January 2020, The Batman production was put on hold on March 14th due to coronavirus. Comparing the production of this movie to other Batman movies is difficult because of a lack of detail about what The Batman will look like. The noir story and darker aesthetic suggests a comparison to the Christopher Nolan movies. Nolan’s shooting schedules took longer than most due to his unusual approach of filming everything himself instead of using a second unit and doing big action setpieces practically, so a direct comparison is difficult to find.
Even without other movies to compare it to, there are a lot of signs a delay for The Batman seems inevitable. Similar to The Matrix 4, Warner Bros. dragged its heels on shutting down production. Even as other studios were shutting down their productions, The Batman kept filming. When a delay was announced, it was only “on hold” for two weeks. Near the end of that two weeks, Matt Reeves said that production was shut down indefinitely. While the release hasn’t been delayed yet, there are reports that The Batman has only a small chance of releasing in June 2021. Warner likely wants to hit this particular date to match with every pre-DC Extended Universe Batman movie releasing in the summer. Coming out earlier in the year means it can be delayed and still stay in 2021, but at the cost of missing a prime summer release date.
Mission: Impossible 7
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Mission: Impossible 7, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, is currently set to release on July 23, 2021. It was set to be shot back-to-back with Mission: Impossible 8, though production was shut down because Mission: Impossible 7 is set largely in Italy, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Being tied to that one location adds uncertainty about hitting its release date as they can’t easily move production elsewhere.
If there’s any saving grace for Mission: Impossible 7, it’s that post-production on these movies have been quite short. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout, both also directed by McQuarrie, wrapped production in March 2015 and 2018, respectively, and were released in July. Production for these movies were long (August to March for Rogue Nation, April to March for Fallout, with a two-month delay after Tom Cruise was injured), so time gained by shorter post-production may be lost to a longer time in principal photography. This suggests filming in Italy would have to start back up around July 2020 to hit a July 2021 release, which seems unlikely at this time.
Uncharted
![Tom Holland and Uncharted 4 A Thief's End](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tom-Holland-and-Uncharted-4-A-Thiefs-End.jpg)
Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and directed by Ruben Fleischer, is an adaptation of the video game series, currently set to release on October 8, 2021. Production on Uncharted was already delayed indefinitely on March 16, another in the series of delays for Uncharted stretching back to 2008.
Before Uncharted’s most recent delay, it was scheduled to start filming in April 2020 and release on March 5, 2021. All of those dates are up in the air now, but that schedule suggests that Uncharted would need to start shooting October or November 2020 to make its current October 2021 release date. This is a plausible time to start filming, except that star Tom Holland also leads Sony’s Spider-Man franchise.
Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 is the real threat to Uncharted. Both are Sony properties, and if there’s any scheduling conflict between the two, Sony will choose Spider-Man. It’s a safe, well-known property, as opposed to the gamble that video game adaptations still are at the box office. If this delay causes scheduling conflicts between the two, Uncharted is likely getting pushed back at least to 2022, if not further.
Fantastic Beasts 3
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Fantastic Beasts 3, directed by David Yates, is the next installment in the Harry Potter spinoff series, currently set to release on November 12, 2021. Production was set to begin in March 2020, but was delayed that same day. Coming out late in 2021, any disruption to its production could get Fantastic Beasts 3 delayed to 2022.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was filmed from August 2015 to January 2016, coming out in November 2016. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was filmed from July to December 2017, released in November 2018. Thanks to heavy visual effects and long shooting schedules, those movies took about 15 months from the start of filming to release. This suggests that Fantastic Beasts 3 could start as late as August 2020 and still make its release date, though any little delay past that could push it out of 2021.
Another complication is Ezra Miller’s commitment to The Flash. The Flash is still set to release on July 1, 2022, though that’s up in the air with pre-production put on hold due to coronavirus. This could cause some scheduling issues for Miller, possibly disrupting shooting for Fantastic Beasts 3 unless The Flash is delayed yet again.
Key Release Dates
The Matrix Resurrections
Release Date:2021-12-22The Batman
Release Date:2022-03-04Jurassic World Dominion
Release Date:2022-06-10Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Release Date:2023-07-12Uncharted
Release Date:2022-02-18Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Release Date:2022-04-15