The Matrix 4 pushed to 2022, Godzilla vs. Kong to 2021
Warner Bros. is taking the final hours of the business week to shuffle around its release schedule for a number of major upcoming projects, beginning with Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984 and now has confirmed that The Matrix 4 will be moving from its planned May 21, 2021 release to April 1, 2022 while Godzilla vs. Kong will take over its spot, according to Deadline.
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In addition to delaying the fourth installment in the fan-favorite Wachowski-helmed franchise and Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Warner Bros. has also chosen to pull Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches from its October 9 and has chosen to delay Tom & Jerry to March 5, 2021 from its original Christmas release date. With Tenet moving to the end of July and Wonder Woman leaving August, STX Films has elected to move the Gerard Butler-led actioner Greenland from its original July 31 release to August 14.
The epic action-adventure Godzilla vs Kong will pit two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against one another — the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong — with humanity caught in the balance.
The film stars Alexander Skarsgård (Big Little Lies, The Little Drummer Girl), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Rebecca Hall (Christine, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta, Widows), Shun Oguri (Gintama), Eiza González (Baby Driver), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist), and Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2). Also starring in the highly-anticipated movie are Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester by the Sea) and Demián Bichir (The Nun, The Hateful Eight).
The fourth installment in Warner Bros.’ Pictures and Legendary’s Monsterverse is directed by Adam Wingard from a script written by Oscar nominee Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean, Deja Vu, Shrek). The film is being produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, and Brian Rogers, with Kenji Okuhira, Yoshimitsu Banno, Jon Jashni and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers. Jay Ashenfelter, Jen Conroy and Tamara Kent are co-producers.
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The most recent film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, hit theaters last summer. It ended with Godzilla taking his rightful place as the ruler of all Titans. Unfortunately, the movie was a financial disappointment, grossing only $385.9 million against a budget estimated to be as high as $200 million.
Godzilla vs. Kong is scheduled to release on May 21, 2021.
Lana Wachowski co-wrote the script for The Matrix 4 with Aleksander Hemon and David Mitchell, and will direct the film as well. Academy-Award winning cinematographer John Toll (Legends of the Fall, Braveheart) will shoot the highly-anticipated sequel, succeeding Bill Pope who was the cinematographer for The Matrix trilogy.
Plot details on the fourth live-action film in The Matrix franchise haven’t been revealed, and given the ending of 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions it’s not a clear cut answer.
Earlier this year we asked our readers if they were interested in more movies in the series, with 69% of those voting saying “Yes!” In a secondary poll, 58% said they wanted to see a continuation of the series. Looks like they’ll be getting what they wanted!
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The three previous films—The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003)—have earned more than $1.6 billion at the global box office and were all top-10 domestic hits in their respective years of release. The Matrix Revolutions was also the first film ever to release simultaneously in every major country at the same hour around the world.
The Matrix 4 is scheduled for an April 1, 2022 release.