Disney and 20th Century Studios have delayed Ryan Reynolds' Free Guy from its Dec. 11 premiere date.
According to Deadline, the studio has not yet rescheduled the film to a later date, but it is expected to shift to sometime in 2021. 20th Century Studios also delayed Death on the Nile, which was supposed to open on Dec. 18, indefinitely.
This is the second delay for Reynolds' video game film. Originally scheduled to debut on July 3, 2020, the film was shifted to Dec. 11 due to the coronavirus. The hope was that by that time the virus would be under control and theater chains could at least partially reopen. However, many theaters remain closed and the public is in no mood to see movies on the big screen. Yesterday, the United States recorded over 100,000 new cases of the virus, shattering previous daily records.
With Free Guy and Death on the Nile's delays, Wonder Woman 1984 remains the only major blockbuster left on the 2020 theatrical calendar. However, many experts and analysts believe that Warner Bros. will move it to 2021, especially after the lukewarm box office performance of its previous release, Tenet.
Free Guy stars Reynolds as Guy, a non-player character (NPC) bank teller in an open world video game. However, a new program inserted into the game makes Guy aware that he is in a video game. With his new self-awareness, Guy tries to turn himself into the hero of the story, creating a race against time to save the game before it is shut down by the developers. The film is directed by Shawn Levy and stars Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi.
Based on the novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as Detective Hercule Poirot. When a passenger is found dead on a cruise ship, Detective Poirot must find the murderer before they kill again. The film also stars Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright
Directed by Shawn Levy and written by by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi. The film does not have a release date.
Source: Deadline