'Godzilla Vs. Kong' Release Date Bumped Up Two Months From May To March

Godzilla vs. Kong has been delayed several times over the past year, but the most recent delay from November 2020 came as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. Though movie theaters likely aren't going to be back at their normal operating capacity in this first half of 2021, that's not stopping Warner Bros. Pictures from releasing the movie during that window. That's because of their new release plan to send all of their movies into theaters and onto HBO Max simultaneously. In fact, Warner Bros. just bumped up the Godzilla vs. Kong release date to March, two months earlier than originally planned.

Deadline has news on the Godzilla vs. Kong release date shifting to March 26, 2021 instead of the previously set May 21 release date. There were some rumblings of Godzilla vs. Kong getting a streaming release in November last year when Netflix reportedly made an offer over $200 million for the film. But WarnerMedia was already lining up to take the movie for HBO Max instead, and that was before Warner Bros. had announced their groundbreaking new release strategy. Godzilla vs. Kong will still be hitting theaters and HBO Max at the same time when it arrives in March.

The new release date would seem to indicate that Warner Bros. and Legendary came to some kind of agreement about the film's release after there was the possibility of a legal entanglement. The studio didn't inform any of the creators of their theatrical releases that they were planning on giving all their 2021 movies a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max, so the studio is still doing damage control by renegotiating contracts.

Meanwhile, Legendary is still working with WarnerMedia to figure out some kind of agreement regarding the release of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune. Since Dune isn't slated for release until October 1, 2021, they have more time to hash out an agreement. Will it result in a release date change? We'll have to wait and see.

Godzilla vs. Kong is directed by Adam Wingard and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler, Rebecca Hall, Lance Reddick, Brian Tyree Henry, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison, Ronny Chieng, Demian Bichir, Eiza Gonzalez, Shun Oguri, Alexander Skarsgard, and more. Here's the official synopsis for Godzilla vs. Kong:

Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash in a spectacular battle for the ages. As a squadron embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans' very origins and mankind's survival, a conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.