Some major shakeups in Warner Bros. 2012-2013 release schedule have surfaced today. THR reveals that the studio that has brought audiences such awe-inspiring action-thrillers as
[[ the dark knight ]] and Inception has radically altered its production slate by putting David Dobkin's Arthur & Lancelot on an indefinite hold. The action-adventure had secured rising TV stars Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) and Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) for its title roles as the legendary king and his most trusted knight of the round table. Wednesday night, writer-director David Dobkin notified the cast and crew that the scheduled spring production has been rain checked, admitting it "wasn't looking good" for the project.
The fantasy feature would mark a curious change from Dobkin's recent work, the willfully crude R-rated comedies Wedding Crashers and The Change-up. Yet as Warner Bros. wants this re-imagining of the Camelot tale to be a whimsical adventure in the vein of the PG-13 Sherlock Holmes franchise, it seems Dobkin need just tap into the earlier inspirations that helped him helm the family-friendly action-comedy Shanghai Knights. Of course, one thing that both Sherlock Holmes and Shanghai Knights have in common are leading men with major box office pull. As relative unknowns, Kinnaman and Harington don't inspire confidence that Warner Bros.'s ever-expanding investment in the feature would be worthwhile. The film's projected costs have already soared to $130 million, prompting one Warner insider to insist, "We are trying to make it work. It's not dead." This could mean a massive overhaul of the script to deflate the bloated budget, and may even lead to some recasting as production delays could lose them Harington, who is slated to resume shooting Games of Thrones in a few months.
In the meantime, Warner Bros. has struck Arthur & Lancelot from its March 15, 2013, release date, and to compensate has moved Bryan Singer's action-adventure Jack and the Giant Killer 3D from June 15, 2012, to March 22, 2013. To fill the gap left on June 15th, the studio has pushed its star-stacked, musical crowd-pleaser Rock of Ages back two weeks, from June 1st to June 15th. While Singer fans may lament having to wait longer for his next feature, the later date could allow for the film to better polish its special effects, and build better buzz by attaching trailers to Warner Bros. July release The Dark Knight Rises as well as their holiday tentpole The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
