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By George Robbins

Among the many films that are set to release this year, there is one that many people have been excited to see and that is the monster smack-down that is ‘Godzilla vs. Kong.’ The movie was teased almost immediately after the release of the ‘Godzilla’ 2014 and ‘Kong: Skull Island’ films. After the release of the 2014 film, it was decided that there would be a MonsterVerse with these characters to maintain a continuity for the universe they inhabit. After ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters,’ fans became eager for the next release where the titular title of king would be up for grabs moving into the next movie. It seems as though we are going to have to wait a little longer for that match-up to happen.

There are a number of reasons why the movie would end up getting delayed at this point due to the coronavirus. The virus is responsible for numerous delays, forcing back dates for other movies by up to several months or maybe even longer. The virus has caused numerous events to be postponed or even canceled already, and movies are anything but an exception. There are a few movies that have been an exception that, instead of waiting, were released straight to VOD, such as ‘Trolls World Tour.’ There are few exceptions however, and the remainder of films will have delayed release dates extending into later this year to even next year.

‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ was one of the films believed to be a part of the films that would keep their original release dates. This is due to the fact that its original release date was set for November 20th, 2020, but it seems this is no longer viable. With the movie theater climate being so volatile right now, there is no telling how things will end up turning out by the time the film is meant to release. No one really saw this change coming though, since they just got its rating and got an early synopsis up and running. Though this does actually make some kind of sense because many movies have actually moved their dates to around the same time frame. This makes that season much less viable for them if they want to make any money during the theatrical release.

On top of the film having a date surrounded by many other top billed films, it is unknown how theaters will be operating by then. Movie theaters aren’t doing so well right now and with what seems to be a second wave of the virus coming around, it seems they won’t be doing well moving forward. Theaters are in financial decline right now due to having their doors being shut to the public and not having any means of income. Despite receiving the green light to reopen their doors to the public in some places, they still have plenty of restrictions in place that limit the amount of tickets they can sell. Without selling tickets, theaters are really in trouble and this is why production companies aren’t sure when to release their films.

Hopefully, by the time ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ releases, theaters will have their plans properly laid out and they will be more successful than right now. Without any new films to show, they have a lot going against them and we could see many going into bankruptcy. The new release for the film is set for May 21st, 2021 and by then we will have a better idea of how the industry is set up to handle things moving forward. The next year or so is going to be rough, but knowing that we have a film like this to look forward to makes it just a little easier. After the end of ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters,’ many fans were just waiting for this movie to release, but hopefully we can keep it together long enough for the film to come out.