In a summer full of reboots, sequels, adaptations, etc. we were hoping the Wachowskis would provide a breath of fresh air with Jupiter Ascending, a film we weren’t sure would be a rousing return to action-heavy sci-fi for the directors, or a complete disaster. Regardless, the wait for the Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis-led tentpole, with a rumored budget of over $150 million, has been considerably extended.
With less than two months to go until release, Warner Bros. announced that it has lifted the film from its July 18th bow and plopped it down on February 6th, 2015. According to executive Dan Fellman, he tells LA Times, “We’ve been trying like hell to get this finished. But there are over 2,000 visual effects shots in the movie, and it’s just not gonna happen in time.” He added, “We got down to the wire and we just had to make a decision. It doesn’t matter what anybody says. Nobody has seen the movie, so everybody is speculating. People said bad things about World War Z when that got pushed, and look how that turned out.”
We’ll play into the speculation as, yes, World War Z got delayed, but it was moved to a prime summer slot, not what is often the cinematic wasteland early in the year. The last WB tentpole to make such a major shift was Bryan Singer‘s Jack the Giant Slayer and, well, we all know how that turned out. Still, as fans of their last feature (and financial disappointment), Cloud Atlas, hopefully WB’s reason is a valid one. In related news, they’ve now lifted Jaume Collet-Serra‘s Liam Neeson-led Run All Night, which was occupying that Feb. slot, to an undisclosed 2015 date.
Do you think February will be a better fit for Jupiter?