New 2020 Release Dates: Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune,' Cary Joji Fukunaga's 'Bond 25,' and 'Fast & Furious 9'

This will be a relatively brief post, but some release date changes were revealed yesterday for a few of the biggest films of 2020. It always feels a bit silly to get so ahead of ourselves by looking ahead to 2020 films, especially when 2019 will see the premiere of the final chapters in the Avengers and Star Wars sagas, new films from Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, and a whole slew of highly anticipated titles. But if you love looking months down the line, 2020 is looking pretty sweet.

First, Warner Bros. announced that Denis Villeneuve's Dune, the Blade Runner 2049 director's highly-anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel, will arrive in theaters on November 20, 2020. The box office failure of Villeneuve's 2017 Blade Runner sequel has led some fans to fear that his take on Dune will be another critically acclaimed project to miss at the box office, especially since David Lynch's Dune was already a failure in the 1980s. But if movie stars still have any draw, the sheer star power of Dune should mean it's a guaranteed hit: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Dave Bautista, and Charlotte Rampling lead the stunning cast. Dune is currently the only film officially slated for the 2020 Thanksgiving frame; Disney has an untitled animated film set for November 25, and Universal has the Dwayne Johnson/Gal Gadot-led Red Notice scheduled for November 13. Let's hope Dune becomes the smash hit Villeneuve deserves. 

In related Warner Bros. news, Exhibitor Relations reported that Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn, which co-stars Bruce Willis, will arrive in theaters on November 1, 2019. In addition, New Line Cinema's Sundance acquisition Blinded by the Light, from director Gurinder Chadha will arrive on August 14, 2019.  

Universal and MGM also made some big changes to their 2020 slate in the late hours of Friday evening. MGM shifted Cary Joji Fukunaga's Bond 25 from February to April 8, 2020, where it appears to be the sole blockbuster over the Easter frame. Warner Bros. has an untitled DC film on the calendar and Sony Animation is releasing an untitled project, but I'm particularly skeptical of Warner Bros. finding a DC film to debut in time. Daniel Craig returns to star as the superspy, with Skyfall and Spectre screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade returning to pen the screenplay. Expect an official cast announcement- and a title- as soon as production commences. 

Meanwhile, Universal moved Fast & Furious 9 from its secure early April 2020 release to May 22, 2020, where it'll be in the thick of the summer movie season. To be entirely honest, May 2020 looks stupidly crowded, and it would be a smart move for some studios to shift around some projects early. The Justin Lin-directed F9 will face off directly against Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong and Paramount's The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, but that won't be Dominic Torretto's only competition- Maleficent 2, an untitled Quiet Place sequel, Legally Blonde 3, a Scooby-Doo animated movie, Tom Hanks' Greyhound, an untitled Will Packer project, and a new Marvel movie all hit theaters in May 2020. 

Look for more new release dates and news soon.