Though we did end up adding “Babylon” to our recently-released Most Anticipated Films of 2021 list, we had a strong suspicion that Damien Chazelle’s first feature film since “First Man” would end up getting pushed until 2022. And ultimately, it appears that intuition was spot on.
According to Deadline, Paramount has moved the official release date for “Babylon” from December 2021 until December 25, 2022. And actually, that date is a bit of a cheat, as that’s the date for select theaters. Chazelle’s big-budget, Old Hollywood feature actually won’t be released wide until January 6, 2023, which feels about 10 years away from now.
That said, this isn’t a complete surprise, as disappointing as the news is. You see, after COVID-19 shut down the film industry for much of 2020, production reportedly was delayed on “Babylon.” And recently, it was announced that Margot Robbie was in talks to replace Emma Stone as one of the leads in the film. Robbie is expected to star opposite Brad Pitt in the feature that tells the story about Hollywood’s switch from silent films to “talkies” almost a hundred years ago.
But you see, with the casting change, this meant production on “Babylon” has yet to begin. And from all reports, Chazelle’s film is going to be a massive period production that is going to take some time to film. So, if production has yet to begin on this film, rushing it out by this December just didn’t seem likely. Of course, even if we were expecting SOME delay, a full year is a bit of a bummer, to say the least. However, it’s clear that Paramount is shooting for that Christmas holiday, Oscar-qualifying window for the film, making sure “Babylon,” much like Chazelle’s previous works, “Whiplash,” “La La Land,” and “First Man,” is deep in the awards discussion.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021
Regardless, a year-long delay isn’t good news for any film fan. But hopefully, this gives Chazelle plenty of time to craft another quality feature with some of the biggest stars in the world. And if that happens, it won’t matter whether it comes out in 2022 or 2023, we’ll just be happy to see “Babylon” in the comfort of a theater. (That is, if theaters survive that long…)
