Déjà pandemic: with Hollywood experiencing a sudden shutdown of work—this time due to the ongoing actors and writers strikes—release dates are being delayed. The first studio to officially announce movies shifting on the calendar is Sony, and it affects highly anticipated releases like Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse and (the slightly less anticipated) Kraven the Hunter.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, trilogy-capper Beyond the Spider-Verse, which had been set for a March 24, 2024 release, is now without a release date entirely. Kraven, originally set for October 6 of this year, will now arrive August 30, 2024. Also in this news is a freshly added date: Venom 3, which will now arrive before Kraven on July 12, 2024, as well as this tidbit: “The studio’s Karate Kid movie is also relocating because of the strike, from June 7, 2024 to Dec. 13, 2024. The studio never announced a filmmaker for the project, and with the strike, development has stalled.”
As the trade points out, it makes sense to shift Kraven since it’ll be nearly impossible to promote the Spider-Man villain tale without the wattage of stars like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, and Russell Crowe. As for that other Spidey story, Beyond the Spider-Verse could probably use the extra time, for a few reasons; fans will recall Across the Spider-Verse was itself extensively delayed until it finally arrived this June. During the strike, actors obviously can’t do any recording of their roles (and there are a lot of roles in the Spider-Verse). Even beyond that, the movie may still be finding itself; as recently as May, it felt like that March 24 date might not happen, as writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller told THR they had a beginning and an end, but according to Miller, “the middle is still a little squishy.” (According to a press release distributed by Sony regarding the date changes, “the studio is considering several dates depending on how long the strike lasts.”)
Yet another Spidey saga, Madame Web, is moving in the other direction; as Deadline reports, it’ll now open February 14, 2023 (it was scheduled for February 16). The trade also notes the next Ghostbusters movie, originally slated for December 20, is now March 29, 2024; horror movie They Listen, originally down for August 30, 2024, is undated for now.
We’ll certainly hear about more releases moving the longer the AMPTP refuses to consider fair labor deals for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
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