Remember when Sony recently pushed back the release date for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” from September 24 to October 15? At the time, it felt a bit like an optimistic half-step, where the studio knew September wouldn’t happen but was hopeful about October working out in regards to COVID surges and vaccine/mask mandates around the world. All that to say, it didn’t feel like the end of the story, and the move seemed temporary, to say the least. Well, surprise, surprise, everyone was probably right.
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According to Vulture, sources are telling the outlet that Sony is moving “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” one more time, from October 15 to January 21, 2022. The report claims that one of the reasons Sony didn’t show any ‘Venom’ footage at its recent CinemaCon presentation is because the studio knew theater owners would be upset with the date change. But the ‘Venom’ move isn’t just about one movie, as it could be the precursor for yet another date change trend amongst major fall films.
Folks have been concerned that the COVID issue this fall would lead to studios losing faith in releasing major blockbusters over the next few months, leading to many of those films vacating 2021 and moving into 2022. That includes films such as “No Time to Die” (though other reports say MGM can’t afford another date change), “Eternals,” and Sony’s own, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” just to name a few. The ‘Venom’ move is a clear vote of no confidence by Sony. And if “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” doesn’t have a great opening weekend on September 3, then we could be looking at studios in panic mode, for sure.
Logistically, even if nothing else changes, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” moving to January 15, 2022 means Jared Leto’s Sony/Marvel film, “Morbius,” will also have to move, as the studio obviously won’t release two blockbusters on the same day. So, when the news is made official for ‘Venom 2,’ keep an eye on where “Morbius” moves, as it will likely have to shift until the spring, at the earliest.
