With nary a still frame released to the public less than four months away from its Midnight Special, but it’s nevertheless still at least a little disappointing.
March 18, 2016 is now when you can expect to see the latest from the Mud/Take Shelter director. This pulls it from competing in the Thanksgiving slot beside Creed, Pixar‘s The Good Dinosaur, the Christmas-themed reunion of 50/50 stars Seth Rogen/Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Night Before and the Daniel Radcliffe-starring Victor Frankenstein and lands it the week before another one of the studio’s big tentpole release Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. A curious decision, made even more puzzling when it’s revealed to also be combating Alligent – Part 1, Paramount‘s Monster Trucks and something from Tri-Star called Miracles From Heaven. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of lost faith.
Although it’s known to center on a father (Michael Shannon) who goes on the run to protect his son (Jaedan Lieberher) and uncovers the truth about his son’s special powers — with Joel Edgarton, Kirsten Dunst and Adam Driver also signed out to round out the cast — the state Nichols’ latest is less transparent. Word of mouth suggested it was turning out well, with those lucky enough to see some footage at SXSW being quite ecstatic, even comparing its mood and tone to early John Carpenter, and Warner Bros. getting ready at one point to hand Nichols the keys to Aquaman based on what he put together here.
Maybe that was all premature, or it’s possible the reasoning isn’t quite as cynical. VFX effects may not be as polished as they were predicted to be at this time, or maybe the studio thinks capitalizing on the somewhat quieter spring months is more beneficiary for this movie. It’s hard to say because, again, little is known about this one.
I’m trying to stay optimistic, at least. This one has the potential to be really special, and Warner Bros. is one of the few studios left today really taking a shot at original sci-fi productions — even if they lead to mixed results, see Interstellar (which I liked, despite its flaws) and Jupiter Ascending (can’t say the same). Chances are promotional materials will creep out once the summer movie season comes to a cool, and a prolonged promotional run for this movie is probably for the best, especially considering how Shannon isn’t necessarily a matinee idol and only movie fans are really in tune with Nichols’ name at this point. Like I said, I’m staying optimistic. I really want this one to soar. [Exhibitor Relations]
