Chris Pratt has been keeping busy of late as Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Owen Grady in the Jurassic World movies, but don't think this means the actor only exclusively works on superhero and dinosaur-centric projects. He'll appear later this year as Grant Cutler in The Kid, he's reprising Emmet in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part next year, and for the last four years, he's been attached to lead Cowboy Ninja Viking, the cinematic adaptation of the same-named Image Comics limited series written by A. J. Lieberman and illustrated by Riley Rossmo. However, it looks like the wait for Cowboy Ninja Viking is going to be even longer, as the movie has been pulled from the schedule right as production was gearing up to begin.
Until now, Cowboy Ninja Viking was supposed to be released on June 28, 2019, and the cameras were going to start rolling next month. However, according to Collider, Universal has removed the movie from that release date and delayed production indefinitely, though the movie remains in active development. Supposedly Universal isn't eager to rush to meet that June release date, as it has franchise hopes for Cowboy Ninja Viking. So rather than being dissatisfied with the project altogether, it sounds like Universal simply wants to make sure this Cowboy Ninja Viking adaptation has enough time to have all kinks worked out before principal photography kicks off. If that means delaying the movie for a while, so be it.
Just like the original comic book story, the Cowboy Ninja Viking movie will follow an assassin named Duncan who is able to manifest the personalities of, you guessed it, a cowboy, ninja and viking while out in the field. Chris Pratt signed onto Cowboy Ninja Viking back in November 2014, sticking with the project through thick and thin, including this delay. Breaking Bad director Michelle MacLaren is attached to direct, making this her feature filmmaking debut (although she was attached to direct Wonder Woman before leaving due to creative differences, and Patty Jenkins was hired as her replacement). Wrath of the Titans' Dan Mazeau and Rampage's Ryan Engle wrote the most recent draft of the script. Although Baywatch's Priyanka Chopra was officially cast as Cowboy Ninja Viking's female lead late last month, the Collider report notes that while Chopra is still Universal's first choice for the role following this delay, whether she'll still be involved will depend on how her schedule matches up with when the new production is scheduled.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates regarding Cowboy Ninja Viking's development, as well as Chris Pratt's other upcoming projects. In the meantime, look through our 2018 release schedule to find out what movies are heading to theaters later this year.
