As the movie industry strives to return to some sense of normalcy in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, studios are reshuffling their schedules to accommodate the shift in audience habits – theaters in some areas are only now beginning to reopen with socially distant seating rules in place.

Case in point, Paramount, which this week announced it would be delaying the release of some of its tentpole titles into 2022 and beyond, including Mission Impossible, Dungeons & Dragons and untitled Bee Gee are among others.

The studio also said it would release a yet-unnamed Star Trek series in June of 2023.
Bucking this trend, one film will be released earlier, however: Snake Eyes, the G.I. Joe spinoff with Henry Golding in the lead, will make its appearance on July 23 this year, three months earlier than its original release date of October 23.

Paramount also added four more titles to its calendar: the previously mentioned Star Trek film to debut on June 9, 2023; The Shrinking of Treehorn, November 19, 2023; a yet-untitled Bee Gees flick on November 4, 2022; and another untitled film starring Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski, opening on November 17, 2023.

Here’s a summary of the schedule shuffling:

• Top Gun: Maverick will be released on November 19, 2021, not July 2 as originally scheduled;
• Mission Impossible 7, moved to May 27, 2022 from November 19, 2021;
• Mission Impossible 8, moved to July 7, 2023 from November 4, 2022;
• Snake Eyes, moved up to July 23, 2021 from October 22, 2021;
• Dungeons & Dragons, moved to March 3, 2023 from May 27, 2022;
• Jackass, moved to October 22, 2021 from September 3, 2021.
• Untitiled Bee Gees is announced for November 4, 2022
• Untitled Star Trek is announced for June 9, 2023.
• The Shrinking of Treehorn is announced for November 10, 2023

Now it remains to be seen whether corona-shy audiences will soon return in large numbers to the popcorn palaces or whether they will prefer to have their films streamed to their armchairs.