When SXSW and then the Cannes film festival canceled their 2020 editions earlier this year, the question of what would happen to the official film selection became a big talking point. Would they release in a fall film festival instead? Would they be postponed until 2021? With TIFF and Venice over and the Awards season officially here, there are some big films missing from the conversation, including Wes Anderson‘s highly anticipated “The French Dispatch.”
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As IndieWire points out, the Searchlight title was noticeably absent from Disney‘s latest announcement of postponed releases, which otherwise included all their Marvel movies, as well as “Death on the Nile,” Steven Spielberg‘s “West Side Story” remake, and the erotic thriller “Deep Water,” starring Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck. According to the report, Searchlight “has not yet made a final decision on Anderson’s latest European period piece” which moved around a bit during the summer from a Cannes release, to a July opening and then to a prime Awards season release in October. Now? The film’s slated to come out at an unspecified date in 2021.
According to IndieWire, the most likely scenario for “The French Dispatch” is to return to Cannes next May, skipping the 2020 Oscar season and compete in 2021 instead. That would allow the film to open around the world day and date, as Anderson’s films usually do.
“The French Dispatch” is far from the only Searchlight title to be shuffled around and waiting to see how things evolve. While Searchlight is seemingly still committing to release Venice and TIFF award-winner “Nomadland” this December, IndieWire notes they are still waiting to see what to do with Taika Waititi‘s next film, “Next Goal Wins” about the American Samoa national soccer team’s road to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.