Executives at Sony Pictures have postponed the release of films including Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Morbius until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to social distancing measures leading to the closure of cinemas around the world, many movies set for release in the coming months have been postponed, and on Monday, studio bosses at Sony announced they were shelving the majority of their 2020 releases, the most sweeping move by a major studio since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the fourth instalment in the supernatural comedy franchise, has been moved from its 10 July 2020 opening slot to 5 March 2021, while Morbius, a Marvel Comics adaptation starring Jared Leto as a vampire, has been pushed back from 31 July 2020 to 19 March 2021.
The film adaptation of video game Uncharted, which is set to star Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Banderas, has also been moved from 5 March 2021 to 8 October 2021. The flick, to be directed by Venom's Ruben Fleischer, has been in development for years, and after being beset by multiple setbacks, it was due to begin filming in March, before the pandemic forced all movie productions to shut down.
Earlier this month, Sony officials announced they were postponing animated sequel Peter Rabbit 2, also known as Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, from March until August, but the movie has been delayed once again and is now without a release date.
Greyhound, a World War II movie starring Tom Hanks, and an untitled Sony/Marvel movie, which were due to be released in June and October, respectively, have been taken off the release schedule indefinitely.
However, one project has been brought forward into 2020 - Kevin Hart's drama, Fatherhood, will now be released on 23 October 2020 instead of 15 January 2021.
Other big movie releases to be delayed so far include No Time to Die, A Quiet Place II, Wonder Woman 1984, and Fast and Furious 9.
