Bad News If You Want To See Tom Cruise In Top Gun: Maverick
We've got some bad news if you were hoping to see Top Gun: Maverick this year.
Movie theater owners are uneasy as there’s uncertainty about the potential to release of blockbusters such as No Time to Die on their advertised release date, let alone in their advertised release year. Bringing about another wave of anxiety about the future of Fall 2021 releases and the state of movie theaters is the news that Paramount Pictures is pushing Top Gun: Maverick into 2022 .
Hollywood has been asked to reevaluate the distribution of upcoming heavy hitters that have been subject to delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and fears around high transmission rates before. The world is still amid the pandemic as variants of the virus emerge and threaten to regress the progress that has been made by societal adaptations. MGM’s No Time to Die, Marvel’s Eternals, and Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage are hoping to squeak by and dance around distribution delays, unlike Top Gun: Maverick.
The domino effect that is brought about by the Delta variant is eerily familiar as COVID-19 continues to ravage parts of the world. The most recent retreat made by business restrictions may derail recovery by the year’s end. In light of the news that Top Gun: Maverick has been pushed to next year, Hollywood insiders are cautionary and warn that No Time to Die could be facing box office delays once again. Curiosities about the fate of the movie were rekindled after the trailer was released, removed, and then re-released.
At the moment, unlike Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die will stay put in its current release window and MGM is holding on to its mid-autumn premiere date. The Bond film is not only Daniel Craig’s last ride as 007 but has made history as the most expensive Bond film ever made. Choosing to set back the release may be conscious of the current health crisis that has terrorized nations globally, but the proposition could cost MGM a pretty penny if they choose to follow through with another postponement.
No Time to Die is no stranger to theatrical release dates being shuffled around and still remains to be determined to be seen on the big screen. Originally, the Craig-led Bond film should have been released in March 2020. Escalating concern around COVID-19 caused movie theaters to shut their doors, consequentially setting the movie back until April of the same year. Unfortunately, the virus still posed an incredibly real threat, once again asking No Time to Die to rehome itself in November, just as Top Gun: Maverick was pushed back even farther into the future. With a November release, there were hopes that being so close to the holidays would recover MGM’s losses. The movie was then postponed twice over since, once to April 2021 and then conclusively to October 2021. At one point, it was alleged that No Time to Die was scouted for streaming release, though that doesn’t seem to be the case (for now).
Representatives from MGM, Disney, Universal, Sony, or Warner Bros. have denied comments on further feature picture delays, or have simply not issued statements regarding films such as No Time to Die relinquishing their 2021 theatrical spots. No Time to Die now patiently awaits an October 8, 2021 release date that can hopefully be set in stone, unlike the unfortunate fate of Top Gun: Maverick.
