Many film debuts have been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and The Batman and Dune are the latest ones, while Matrix 4 has been moved up.
The sci-fi epic Dune from director Denis Villeneuve starring Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, and Zendaya will no longer premiere on December 18, 2020—it’s now slated for an October 1, 2021 debut.
The Batman starring Robert Pattinson and directed by Matt Reeves was supposed to be released on October 1, 2021, but it will now be released on March 4, 2022.
Matrix 4 has been moved up to December 22, 2021 instead of April 1, 2022.
News of these delays comes after James Bond sequel No Time to Die, which was set for a November release date, was pushed back to 2021. This decision causes Regal, the second-biggest U.S. theater chain, to close down its venues after reopening in August. Cinemark, another major theater, announced that they have no plants to close U.S. venues.
Comic book adventure films including The Flash and Shazam 2 have also been delayed. The superhero adventures Black Adam and Minecraft have been taken off the release calendar.
