One Shot and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Scheduled; World War Z Pushed to 2013
Posted 03.14.12 by Ryan
Paramount has made changes to its upcoming release slate, the result of which pushes World War Z to 2013, puts One Shot in its place, and makes a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie official.
Originally set for a December 21st release, the studio has moved Brad Pitt-starring zombie movie World War Z away from the 2012 Holiday Season, and put the Tom Cruise-starring One Shot in its place, Box Office Mojo reports. Last year's December 21st worked well as an opening for Cruise's last movie, Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, and clearly the studio thinks that Cruise will do well again with that date. Initially scheduled for February 2013, One Shot is based on one of author Lee Child's 15 best-selling novels about Military Police Officer-turned-drifter Jack Reacher, and Paramount has to be counting on those fans to turn up when One Shot competes against director Kathryn Bigelow's Untitled Osama Bin Laden Movie, director Judd Apatow's Knocked Up spin-off This is Forty, as well as Les Miserables and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which open the week before.
Also based on a best-selling novel, World War Z has Brad Pitt (and a horde of zombies) to help the movie beat out the summer competition on its new release date of June 21, 2013. Pitt has said that World War Z could be the start of a trilogy, and, clearly, Paramount thinks the possible trilogy could start amidst a summer of blockbuster tentpoles, including Pixar's Monsters, Inc. sequel Monsters University and Warner Bros.' Man of Steel, which opens the week before. We'll have to wait until next summer to see if they're right, but this is another blow to zombie fans as another high-profile 2012 zombie movie, Warm Bodies, was also pushed from 2012 to 2013.
Fans of the "heroes in a half-shell" have to be pleased to know that another attempt at a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which will now hit theaters on December 25, 2013. Nickelodeon purchased the rights to the comic book, video game and movie franchise back in 2009, with Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company stepping in to produce the movie in June of 2010.
The first order of business was to hire screenwriters, which was accomplished when the studio brought in Ghost Protocol screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec to replace the previously hired writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man) last June. The studio must like what the duo did, as the movie now has an official release date. Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans, Battle: Los Angeles) was hired to direct last month.