Seth Rogen's been on a role as of late, with Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and Sausage Party both treating him very well at the beginning and end of this summer season. And what does a talented individual on a role look to do but to parlay that winning streak for as long as possible? Well, it looks like that streak may have a slight detour in 2017, as one of Rogen's next films, The Something, just found itself pulled from its intended summer release date.
The space comedy, which stars Rogen, as well as Zack Galafianakis and Bill Hader, was scheduled to debut its story of first contact gone horribly wrong with a May 26th, 2017 debut. At least, it was, until Universal reportedly pulled the film from its slot, without a new date in mind as of yet. With Variety's report on the matter came three possible reasons for this decision, the first being is that this original release date is home to two huge competitors.
Both Disney's Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the space drama, Life, are opening on the same day, assuring a proven and would-be tentpole will be going to battle, leaving room for very little else. But the other, and probably more pressing issues, that have possibly delayed The Something on the launch pad, are a possible scheduling conflict, as well as budgetary woes.
If there are scheduling problems with The Something's production window and its cast, then we're finding it hard to figure out just why. Both Seth Rogen and Zach Galifianakis have projects on the books for 2017, but those projects, among which are Zeroville and The Lego Batman Movie, are either in post-production or merely 'announced'. While any last minute re-shoots, ADR, and publicity appearances will obviously be required from both stars, there just might be scheduling problems involved. However, we're more likely to believe that Universal's balking over the budget, especially considering the 2016 they've had.
While it has been a pretty good year for Universal, what with The Secret Life of Pets and Jason Bourne providing them two solid hits, the comedy field has been less than forgiving with their latest efforts. Ride Along 2's early success aside, offerings such as The Boss and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping have brought in decent to dismal showings, with no real break-out hit to be seen. So obviously, future comedy projects will be a source of budgetary scrutiny in their house, and The Something will either need to back up their expenditures, or scale back to fit the studio's expectations.
Considering the studio hasn't outright cancelled The Something, there's still hope to see Seth Rogen, Zach Galifianakis, and Bill Hader all making the world laugh with one false step for mankind. For now though, the project is in a holding pattern, and as soon as there's an update on the project's official status, we'll report back with the latest!
