Jupiter Ascending Descends To A 2015 Release Date

So you know that big-budget sci-fi epic from the creators of The Matrix Trilogy that was set to open in July?  Yeah, according to Variety, that ain’t happening.

Citing the need to finish extensive special effects, Warner Bros. has delayed the Andy and Lana Wachowski movie “Jupiter Ascending” from July 18 to Feb. 6, 2015.

The decision came less than seven weeks before the sci-fier was due to open. Domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman said that the Wachowskis needed more time to complete their work on more than 2,000 special effects shots in the film.

“With the July release date, they were just not going to make it on time,” he added. “A lot of the issue for us was getting it ready for the international release, since the foreign territories need additional time.”

Fellman also said noted that “Jupiter Ascending” would now open on the same weekend that Warner Bros. used for “The Lego Movie” this year. The exec said that the sci-fier had been shown in rough form at test screenings.

Fellman also noted that both “Lego” and Disney/Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which opened in early April, had delivered strong results outside the traditional tentpole corridors. “Lego” grossed $460 million worldwide and “Winter Soldier” has topped $700 million.

The movie is definitely effects heavy, so I guess its a good thing they’re not rushing it and taking the time to do it right.  It is kinda odd that Warner Bros has decided to knock Jupiter Ascending from a prime summer slot to that of the far less prestigious April.  However, my thinking is that the lack of competition from big movies in that time-frame will give Jupiter Ascending the breathing room it needs to find an audience.  Heck, it worked for Captain America, right?  So now the only movies the film has to compete with are they Johnny Depp-starring Mortdecai and the Jeff Bridges-starring (and also delayed) Seventh Son – both of which look… well… crappy.  (IMHO)

Though, after seeing Channing Tatum’s ridiculous make-up for the film, I can’t help but wonder if 1,999 of those 2,000 effects shots left to be completed are devoted to making him look less ridiculous.  I seriously want this movie to be good, because I support all sci-fi, but I am not, nor will I ever be, a Channing Tatum fan.  And the design of his character in this movie is just laughable. Seriously, take a look at this image and tell me with a straight face you do not think of a Keebler Elf.  I dare you.  I double-dog dare you.

Oh, and Sean Bean is in the movie as Tatum’s mentor!  How much you want to bet he dies at some point in the movie?  The Sean Bean Death Squad is a thing, people.  It must be kept alive.  (pun intended.)  Anyway, for those of you who know nothing about this movie (and let’s face it, there hasn’t exactly been a marketing blitz for this thing, considering its previous release date was last month), here is a synopsis for y’all:

From the streets of Chicago to far flung galaxies whirling through space, Jupiter Ascending was conceived and written by the Wachowskis, who are also directing. Award-winning producer Grant Hill, with whom the writer/directors have collaborated since “The Matrix” Trilogy, is producing the film together with the Wachowskis. Roberto Malerba and Bruce Berman are serving as executive producers.

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning toilets and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along – her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.

And for those of you who hate to read, you can get the gist of it from the trailer:

So what do you think?  Is this movie going to be any good?  Will it do better in April of 2015 than it would have in July of next month?  I report, you decide… then we both go on with our lives not caring.

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