Up to now, we’ve been seeing how films that were already pretty much finished and ready to be released have been delayed due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. But what we see with the just-announced delay of Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is a bit different. The animated film isn’t supposed to arrive until July, but it’s not being pulled because of the current theatrical situation.
According to Illumination (the studio behind the ‘Minions’ and ‘Despicable Me’ franchises) founder and CEO Chris Meledandri (via Deadline), ‘The Rise of Gru’ is being delayed because of the work stoppage that has affected so many people around the world due to the pandemic. Because of the fact that animators and filmmakers aren’t able to actually finish the ‘Minions’ sequel, ‘Gru’ is now finding itself without a release date.
Here’s the full statement:
“In response to the severity of the situation in France, we are temporarily closing our Illumination Mac Guff studio in Paris. With this decision we are abiding by the French Government’s guidelines and doing everything possible to slow the spread of the virus as we care for our artists and their families. This means we will be unable to finish ‘Minions: The Rise Of Gru’ in time for our planned global releases in late June and early July. While we all grapple with the enormity of this crisis, we must put the safety and protection of our employees above all. We look forward to finding a new release date for the return of Gru and the Minions.”
As mentioned, ‘The Rise of Gru’ wasn’t supposed to arrive in theaters until July 3. We’re already seeing some analysts predict that theaters should be back to (relative) normal by then, but now, that weekend is going to be without one of its biggest draws. Not only that but ‘Rise of Gru’ now finds itself alongside heavy hitters like “Black Widow,” “A Quiet Place 2,” and “Mulan” as films that are expected to be big hits and will likely fight for release dates in the late summer or fall.
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That being said, the departure of ‘Rise of Gru’ does allow for another one of these films to swoop in and stake a claim to the coveted July 3 spot. As of now, the only major release is 20th Century Studio’s “Free Guy,” but perhaps Disney would rather move that to later in the year and allow for the Summer Movie Season to kick off with “Black Widow” during the Fourth of July weekend? Needless to say, the weeks ahead are going to be very interesting.
