Reacting to the demands being placed on the film industry by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Lionsgate is playing musical chairs with several of its horror releases.
The new slate of horror offerings from Lionsgate includes schedule changes for Antebellum, the next Saw installment and Fatale, as well as an announcement on an upcoming film, Rapture, according to comingsoon.net.
Antebellum, originally scheduled for an April 24 release, will now hit theaters Aug. 21, 2020. The film–written and directed by the team of Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz and produced by Sean McKittrick (Get Out and Us)–tells the story of successful author Veronica Henley (Janelle Monae) who is transported back to the 19th Century, where she comes face-to-face with her enslaved ancestors. The movie’s tag line hints at the horror to come: “What if fate chose you to save us from our past?”.
In addition, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw has been been hit with another change, from its previous release date of May 2020. Now, Lionsgate says the ninth chapter of the Saw saga will be in theaters May 21, 2021. This date became available when the fourth John Wick film was bumped back an entire year to May 27, 2022. Not a good idea to bump Mr. Wick!
This Saw excursion into horror–directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (who helmed Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV–sees Samuel L. Jackson in an unlikely team-up with Chris Rock as police officers investigating horrific murders that strangely resemble past atrocities.
Fatale–described as a “suspenseful and provocative psychological thriller”–has been rescheduled for a Halloween 2020 coming-out party. In this horror entry, sports agent Darren (played by Michael Ealy), becomes embroiled in a police investigation led by a determined–and disgraced–detective (portrayed by two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank) with whom he had a brief affair.
Finally, in another vein, Lionsgate also has inked a deal for an upcoming horror film, Rapture, in which a resourceful family is challenged to solve the mystery of the world’s population disappearing.
Keep reading Horror News Network for any additional schedule changes from Lionsgate or any other movie studios struggling with this virus crisis.
Click here for more on the Saw franchise.
