2020 was filled with a lot of complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the film industry, not only did numerous productions have to shut down for months and resume shooting with new health and safety protocols in place, but a lot of movies were delayed due to theaters being shut down. Well, just a few weeks into 2021, it’s clear the delays aren’t anytime soon. Shortly after it was announced that No Time to Die is moving to October, Sony Pictures revealed it’s pushing back some of its movies that had already been delayed, including Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Uncharted.
So what’s new on the Sony front? Well, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is shifting from a June 11, 2021 release to November 11, 2021, while Uncharted, which was previously set for July 16, 2021, is now slotted for February 11, 2022. Those of you looking forward to Sony’s live-action Cinderella adaptation will have to wait until July 16, 2021 for its arrival, rather than catching it on February 5. Finally, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway has left behind its previous Easter Weekend release and has taken Afterlife’s old June 11 slot.
With the health crisis still raging and a lot of movie theaters still keeping their doors shut, it’s not terribly surprising that Sony Pictures decided to adjust its release slate accordingly. Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Uncharted in particular are among the studio’s biggest movies coming up, and since there are no plans to send either of them to a streaming platform, it’s all the more important that they come out at a time when theaters are operating normally. Both Afterlife and Uncharted currently have those new opening weekends to themselves, although you can count on them eventually getting some company down the line.
Serving as a direct sequel to the original two Ghostbusters movies (unlike 2016’s Ghostbusters, which was a full-on reboot), Ghostbusters: Afterlife sees a single mother and her two children moving to a farm in Summerville, Oklahoma, and in the midst of some unexplained earthquakes, the kids uncover their family’s connection to the original Ghostbusters. Its main cast includes Paul Rudd, Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim and Celeste O’Connor, as well as Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts all reprising their respective roles. Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, directed and co-wrote the Afterlife script with Gil Kenan.
Uncharted is the cinematic adaptation of the same-named video game series, with Tom Holland playing a younger version of treasure hunter Nathan Drake. No specific plot details have been revealed yet, but Holland’s costars include Mark Wahlberg (who was attached to play Drake in an earlier incarnation of the project), Antonio Banderas, Sophia Taylor Ali and Tati Gabrielle. Venom director Ruben Fleischer helmed Uncharted, and Art Marcum and Matt Holloway wrote the script.
That brings us up to speed on Sony’s film slate, but stay locked on CinemaBlend for updates on other studios delaying their respective movies, because you can be sure more of those announcements are forthcoming. If you’re curious about what other movies are set to arrive this year, look through our 2021 release schedule.
