'Minions: The Rise Of Gru' And 'Sing 2' Get New Release Dates, While 'Wicked' Has Been Taken Off The Calendar

The coronavirus dominos continue to fall throughout Hollywood, as another film studio has shuffled release dates for some of its big movies. This time it's Universal Pictures, which has now bumped Illumination Entertainment's prequel Minions: The Rise of Gru for a whole year and has delayed the release of Sing 2 by five months. And what's going on with that Wicked movie we've been hearing about for years? Get the details below.

Probably the most consequential shift Universal made today was for Minions: The Rise of Gru, its animated prequel set in the Despicable Me universe that was expected to be a major moneymaker for the studio. Since a July 3, 2020 release date is no longer feasible thanks to the coronavirus, Universal and Illumination have bumped the movie all the way back to July 2, 2021. (This is the second big Universal release to experience that large of a delay, following in the tire treads of F9.)

That means that Illumination's Sing 2 – the sequel to a movie about animals who participate in an American Idol-style reality talent show – has to move. It originally occupied that July 2, 2021 release slot, but has now been kicked back to Christmas 2021 (December 22, to be specific) to make way for the Minions.

And as the domino effect continues, that means Universal's big holiday 2021 movie will need to be moved, too. The unlucky film in question? Wicked, the long-gestating adaptation of the Wizard of Oz prequel musical that became a smash hit on Broadway. This movie has been in the works for a decade now, but fans will have to wait a bit longer to see it come to the big screen. The movie was supposed to hit theaters in that December 22, 2021 spot, but now it's been removed from the release calendar altogether. That's not exactly surprising news, since casting had not yet begun. As far as we know, Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) is still on board to direct.