As the first month of the year 2021 comes to an end, major movie studios in Hollywood have begun to decide when, and possibly how, their upcoming big movies are going to premiere. This is important seeing as many of these filmmakers had slates of films for release back in 2020 that got cancelled because of pesky COVID. A number of these studios are taking heart that the start of vaccination drives against the viral pandemic might inspire cinemas to open sometime mid-year. Thus they have decided to strategically position their postponed movies there. Others however, are far more cautious.

By that we mean Warner Bros. Pictures have decided to hold off on premiering their biopic on Rock n Roll King Elvis Presley titled, quite simply, “Elvis,” until the middle of next year. Entertainment Weekly tells us that WB has pushed the film a second time. Its first premiere date had been October 1 this year, then shifted a month later to November 5. Warning signs were detected when Warner did not include “Elvis” in its lineup of films that were being given simultaneous releases on theaters and HBO Max streaming. Now, it is confirmed that the movie will not screen until June 3, 2022.

For the most part, the driving reason for all blockbuster release date shuffles nowadays is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some films are pegged by studios to require a wide release only possible in movie-houses, so until these establishments can confidently open, premiering movies become a guessing game. In addition, this production had a nasty brush with the disease while filming in Australia last March 2020. Among those infected had been actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. It was not until September last year that work resumed on “Elvis.”

Tom Hanks stars opposite Austin Butler from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” under the direction of Baz Luhrmann (1996’s “Romeo + Juliet”) for “Elvis,” which chronicles 20 years in the life of Elvis Presley, especially while under the management of the controlling Colonel Tom Parker. Butler plays the role of the King of Rock n Roll while Hanks gets another major historical figure in entertainment under his acting belt as Col. Parker. The film also stars Olivia DeJonge, Yola, Gary Clark Jr., Shannon Sanders, Jordan Holland and Alton Mason.

Image from Movies and TV

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