The theatrical moviegoing industry is all but over for 2020, “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Soul” still have theatrical release dates, but the botched COVID-19 response has essentially killed moviegoing as we know it—at least for 2020. But there’s a further cause and effect that is the domino-effect pile-up of releases crashing into 2021 and 2022 because of the 2020 delays. So, a film that could potentially be perfectly ready for summer 2021 is delaying by a year. Universal Pictures has decided to move “Jurassic World: Dominion” off its summer 2021 release. The Colin Trevorrow-directed movie will now debut on June 10, 2022 — a year later than originally planned.
‘Dominion’ didn’t face a lot of competition either in summer 2021 either. One week before the film was Warner Bros.’ “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” and the week after it, WB’s “In the Heights,” big draws, but neither hardly gigantic blockbuster-sized threats, ala a big superhero movie. But Universal recently moved their ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise film “F9” to May 28, 2021, so it seems the company didn’t want to cannibalize their marketing efforts with two major films at relatively the same time.
READ MORE: Jeff Goldblum Was Given A 109-Page Doc About COVID-19 Safety On ‘Jurassic World 3’ Set
“Jurassic World: Dominion,” shut down filming in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and was one of the first major movies to resume production this summer. Universal took intense COVID-19 precautionary measures that apparently tallied to a $5 million price range (though earlier figures were reported at $9 million). While the film hasn’t wrapped production yet, it is apparently just about three weeks from wrapping. While production was stalled a few times from COVID-19 outbreaks, nothing compared to “The Batman” which had to shut down production because its lead star Robert Pattinson contracted the coronavirus disease.
Collectively, the five ‘Jurassic’ movies have generated more than $5 billion at the global box office and aside from the “Fast & Furious” series, it is Universal’s top draw. “Jurassic World: Dominion,” will be the sixth film in the 27-year-old franchise and stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
READ MORE: ‘Jurassic World Dominion’: Universal Spent $9M+ On COVID-19 Safety Protocols
This sixth and seemingly final edition—at least of Trevorrow’s most recent trilogy— will bring back all-star ‘Jurassic’ ringers like Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum. Trevorrow did not direct the 2018 sequel “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom,” but he did co-write the script and act as producer and overseer.
Universal originally had an Untitled Universal Event Film scheduled for this new 2022 date. Its competition now is WB’s “Shazam! 2,” scheduled for one week earlier on June 3, 2022, and what is currently an Untitled 20th Century Studios Film on the same day.
