The further 2021 rolls along, the more it is beginning to look like more of the same from 2020. COVID-19 still hangs in the air, and certain important events either double down on restrictions to prevent a pandemic spread, like the Tokyo Olympics barring foreign spectators, or push way back in the year in hopes that the situation will improve without rolling into 2022. Movie premieres once again are feeling the crunch, with major studios delaying some of their blockbusters by a few weeks. Notable examples include two graphically gruesome action-fests, the sequel to “Venom” and the “Mortal Kombat” reboot.

As Comic Book Resources tells us, Sony Pictures has bumped “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” slightly, the third time this installment of the wordy Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC) franchise was delayed. Its original premiere was in October 2020, then pushed back to June this year and then September 17. Now, the Spider-Man tangential spinoff starring Tom Hardy will release in September 24. This new slot has “Venom 2” premiering three weeks after MCU Phase 4’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” while Warner Bros.’ “Dune” remake will hit cinemas and HBO Max a week later.

Speaking of Warner, their reboot of the “Mortal Kombat” film adaptation of the successful and violent fighting videogame franchise is also getting a short premiere delay earlier this year as told by IGN. From April 16, it is now slated for the 23rd, and again this is a simultaneous release on movie theaters (where open) and HBO Max streaming. Warner Bros. Pictures announced the date change in a press release, but did not elaborate on the reason for pushing back the premiere by a week.

Both films in question are shooting for R-ratings and mature viewership, but their methods are distinct from one another. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” involves shape-shifting symbiotic life-forms from outer space, one of which is bonded to Tom Hardy’s character Eddie Brock, transforming him into a vicious, occasionally cannibalistic superhuman called Venom. “Mortal Kombat” on the other hand revolves around a fighting tournament held between Earthrealm and the invading Outworld, where participating martial artists, some with supernatural abilities, tend to finish off their adversaries will gory coups de grace called “Fatalities.” The first trailers of the film emphasize how bloody things get in the movie.

Image courtesy of SuperHeroHype