‘The Thing’ Now Dateless, ‘Fast Five’ Moved To April, ‘Ouija’ In Flux
Those waiting to see the prequel to John Carpenter’sThe Thingthis April will instead find flashy cars on screen at the theater. Universal had planned to releasetheir new version ofThe Thing, directed byMatthijs van Heijningen Jr., starringJoel EdgersonandMary Elizabeth Winsteadon July 23, 2025. However, a studio spokeswoman told theLos Angeles Timesthat film was “not yet ready” and has now been left without a release date.
Instead, they’re bumpedFast Five,the fifth installmentofThe Fast and the Furiousfranchise, directed byJustin Lin, starringDwayne Johnson, Vin DieselandPaul Walkerup into that slot, abandoning its original August 05, 2025 release, “citing the successful release of the franchise’s fourth film in April 2009.” Read how the release date shifts might be a good thing, as well some “creative” issues surrounding another Universal property,their adaptationofOuija, after the jump.
In theLos Angeles Timesstory, they state thatPierre Morel,who had been a front runnerto direct the big-budget adaptation of the mysterious Hasbro board game, had a meeting to discuss his ideas for the project.
But Morel and the executives couldn’t find common creative ground, according to two people familiar with the conversations who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the discussions. That leaves executives and producers to continue casting a net for directing candidates.
This poses a major problem because the film is scheduled to come out Thanksgiving 2012 and, along withStretch Armstrongand some other Hasbro projects, if they don’t come out in a certain time frame, Universal will be forced to pay penalties. Plus, the release of all the films must tie in with Hasbro toys, which take longer to make and distribute than a movie.
As for the release date shifts, neither is necessarily a bad thing. A move out of avery crowded Summermight actually be a great thing forFast Five, which was certainly in danger of being overshadowed by any number of films being released around it. And ifThe Thingisn’t ready, I’m sure fans would much rather the studio take their time with it and do it right rather than rush the thing out.
Do any of these bits of news worry you about the projects in question?
