'Mortal Kombat' And 'Tom And Jerry' Get New Release Dates As Warner Bros. Shuffles Its Calendar
Warner Bros. has bestowed new release dates on two of their upcoming titles, Mortal Kombat and Tom and Jerry. The films are just two of the upcoming WB titles that are headed to both theaters and HBO Max at once, a move that's sent shockwaves through Hollywood and left some industry folks ticked-off. Once set for January 2021, Mortal Kombat is now arriving in April, while Tom and Jerry has moved from March to February. Meanwhile, the Hugh Jackman movie Reminiscence – which was supposed to arrive in April – has been pulled from the calendar.
When Warner Bros. announced that all of their 2021 releases were headed to HBO Max on the same day they hit theaters, the news came with a disclaimer: some release dates were subject to change. And sure enough, that's already happening. The studio has moved around Mortal Kombat, Tom and Jerry, and Reminiscence.
Mortal Kombat was set for January 15, 2021, but will now arrive on April 16, 2021. Directed by Simon McQuoid, the film is a new take on the classic video game series. Surprisingly, there aren't many plot details available at the moment, but it's safe to say the film will involve "a mysterious, intergalactic tournament of ancient martial arts." The James Wan-produced film also has a new poster, which you can see below.
Meanwhile, the live-action/animation hybrid Tom and Jerry is moving up a week. Originally slated for March 5, 2021, it will now arrive in theaters and on HBO Max on February 26, 2021. Once upon a time, the plan was to open the movie on December 23, 2020, but obviously, that isn't happening. Directed by Tim Story and starring Chloë Grace Moretz, the movie follows a hotel employee who hires Tom the cat to get rid of Jerry the mouse.
Finally, there's Reminiscence, the upcoming sci-fi film from Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy. This Hugh Jackman flick was set to open sometime in April, but now it's been pulled from the release calendar entirely. One has to wonder if this has something to do with a recent report that suggested actors like Jackman were not exactly thrilled about the HBO Max/Warner Bros. deal:
The surprise move left agencies on a war footing. Representatives for major Warner Bros. stars like Denzel Washington, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie wanted to know why their clients had been treated in a lesser manner than Ms. Gadot. Talk of a Warner Bros. boycott began circulating inside the Directors Guild of America. A partner at one talent agency spent part of the weekend meeting with litigators. Some people started to angrily refer to the studio as Former Bros. "For the longest time, Warner Bros. has been known as the best home for talent, and that has been a significant competitive advantage," Michael Nathanson, a founder of the MoffettNathanson media research firm, said in a phone interview. "With this move, they alienated the very talent they have worked so hard to attract. These aren't engineers you can just replace."
Could Warners be moving the film to 2022 to avoid dropping it on HBO Max, thus keeping someone like Jackman happy? Maybe! Or maybe they're just waiting to decide on a new 2021 release date. In Reminiscence, "Nicolas Bannister, a rugged and solitary veteran living in a near-future Miami flooded by rising seas, is an expert in a dangerous occupation: he offers clients the chance to relive any memory they desire. His life changes when he meets Mae. What begins as a simple matter of lost and found becomes a passionate love affair. But when a different client's memories implicate Mae in a series of violent crimes, Bannister must delve through the dark world of the past to uncover the truth about the woman he fell for."