‘F9’ and ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ Delayed Again
F9 is pumping the brakes again, and Minions are drifting off into 2022.
Even if the movie calendar is starting to slow down thanks to the vaccine rollout and well-defined release strategies by most major studios, we must not forget we are still in the middle of a global pandemic, and that means big delays and date adjustments will keep happening for a while. THR is now reporting that F9, the next chapter in the wildly successful Fast Saga, and the ill-fated Minions: The Rise of Gru are being moved around again.
Last month, we got a pretty decent new look at F9 during the Super Bowl. Universal Pictures played it safe and only promised the ninth mainline entry of the saga would arrive “soon.” Well, it’s coming soon-ish, as it has now moved from May 28 to June 25.
The COVID-19 crisis is slowly being put under control, but people aren’t rushing to cinemas anytime soon. While a summer release date makes sense if we consider the current rate of vaccination in the US and how stable the situation in China (one of the biggest markets for the Fast Saga) is right now, extra time won’t hurt anyone. F9 is a beefy production and Universal’s biggest money-maker until Jurassic World: Dominion roars next year, so they need to get this release right.
The jump is bigger in the case of Minions: The Rise of Gru, which lost its release date (July 3, 2020) last March due to the shutdown of Illumination Studios in France following COVID-19 restrictions. Beyond the lockdown concerns, the movie wasn’t going to make its original release date. Apparently, things have gone well for the production team, but summer 2021 has gotten a bit too crowded for obvious reasons, so Universal has decided to claim a more competitive date: July 1, 2022. That’s a one-year delay like the one F9 received in 2020. Universal isn’t big on small bumps.
Sadly, this is bound to cause yet another blockbuster domino effect, as Sony’s Venom sequel is currently slated for June 25 too. The marketing campaign for that movie hasn’t started yet, so giving it another push won’t be much of a hassle for the studio.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
