Every Warner Bros. Movie Coming to HBO Max and Theaters in 2021 - CBR - Comic Book Resources

In what may be the biggest movie-related news of 2020, Warner Bros. is committing to a hybrid distribution model in 2021. While Wonder Woman 1984 will be the first Warner Bros. film to debut this way when its premieres on December 25 of this year, the studio will continue to release its movies in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously in 2021.

Here's a breakdown of all the movies that are currently part of Warner Bros.' 2021 release slate.

The Little Things

Written and directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), The Little Things stars Denzel Washington as a grizzled small-town California deputy who begrudgingly works with a younger L.A. detective (Rami Malek) to catch a serial killer. The crime-thriller wrapped filming in late 2019 and has held onto its original January 29, 2021, release date, even as Warner Bros. overhauled its release slate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jared Leto also costars in an undisclosed role.

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Judas and the Black Messiah

Daniel Kaluuya stars as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, a biographical drama about the Black Panther Party chairman and the FBI's attempt to take him down. Lakeith Stanfield costars as William O'Neal, a petty criminal who became an informant for the FBI and worked against Hampton in the 1960s. Director Shaka King's film was initially scheduled for Summer 2020 prior to the pandemic, but may yet arrive early enough to meet the extended deadline to qualify for the 2021 Oscars.

Tom & Jerry

Beloved cartoon cat-mouse duo Tom & Jerry are back in Fantastic Four (2005) and Ride Along director Tim Story's upcoming live-action/animated hybrid film of the same name. Chloë Grace Moretz stars in the movie as a young employee who, desperate to evict Jerry from the ritzy Manhattan hotel where she works, recruits Tom to battle his old rival yet again. The film has changed release dates a couple times already, moving up from Spring 2021 to December 2020 and then back again to its current spot on March 5, 2021.

Godzilla vs. Kong

The fourth entry in the MonsterVerse, Godzilla vs. Kong puts the King of the Monsters and King Kong on a collision course as a human conspiracy threatens to wipe out the Titans for good. Cult horror filmmaker Adam Wingard (You're Next) directed the movie, which sees Millie Bobby Brown reprise her role from Godzilla: King of the Monsters opposite MonsterVerse newcomers like Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry. The film has changed release dates several times over the past year and reportedly almost landed at Netflix. Now, though, Godzilla vs. Kong will hit HBO Max and theaters on May 21, 2021.

Mortal Kombat

Simon McQuoid makes his directorial debut with Mortal Kombat, a reboot of the iconic martial arts fighting video game-turned movie franchise. The film's cast includes Power Rangers reboot star Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Joe Taslim (The Raid) as Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano (Thor) as Raiden, Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl) as Jax and Jessica McNamee (Sirens) as Sonya Blade. Behind the camera, James Wan served as a producer on the movie, which has only changed release dates once and is tentatively set to arrive on January 15, 2021 after Warner Bros. considered delaying it prior to announcing its hybrid distribution model.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Those Who Wish Me Dead is an adaptation of Michael Koryta's neo-western novel of the same name, which takes place against the backdrop of a Montana wilderness fire and revolves around a 14-year old boy who's pursued by a pair of assassins after witnessing a brutal murder. Angelina Jolie stars in the film alongside a cast that includes Nicholas Hoult, Jon Bernthal and Tyler Perry. Directed by Taylor Sheridan (Wind River), Those Who Wish Me Dead doesn't have an official 2021 release date for the time being.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

The eighth entry in The Conjuring Universe, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It follows paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they're pulled into the 1981 trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor), who claims he committed murder while possessed by a demon. Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona) helmed the film, which is the first mainline Conjuring sequel that wasn't directed by James Wan. The Devil Made Me Do It was originally scheduled to open on September 11, 2020, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and will now release on June 4, 2021.

In The Heights

Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), In the Heights is an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' stage musical of the same name about the predominantly Latinx community of Washington Heights in Manhattan. Anthony Ramos (Hamilton) stars in the film as charismatic young bodega owner Usnavi de la Vega opposite a cast that includes Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera, Jimmy Smits, Dascha Polanco and Stephanie Beatriz. In the Heights was originally slated to open in June 2020, but was pushed back by nearly twelve months due to the pandemic. It will now premiere on June 18, 2021.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

LeBron James plays himself in Space Jam: A New Legacy, a sequel to 1996's Space Jam that pits the basketball superstar and the Looney Tunes against a new threat. Star Trek: Discovery's Sonequa Martin-Green costars in the film alongside Don Cheadle and several members of the NBA and WNBA in supporting roles as themselves. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip) and cowritten by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), A New Legacy finished production in 2019 and has held onto its original July 16, 2021, release date.

The Suicide Squad

The James Gunn-directed The Suicide Squad is a quasi-sequel to David Ayer's Suicide Squad that follows Task Force X on a new mission that will likely get more than a few of them killed. Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman and Jai Courtney are reprising their Suicide Squad roles in this movie opposite DC Extended Universe newcomers like Idris Elba, John Cena, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga and Michael Rooker. Luckily, Gunn was able to finish shooting just a couple weeks before the COVID-19 lockdowns in March 2020 and has kept The Suicide Squad on-course to make its August 6, 2021, release date ever since.

Reminiscence

An original sci-fi drama written and directed by Westworld co-showrunner Lisa Joy, Reminiscence stars Hugh Jackman as Nicholas Bannister, a veteran who makes a living in the near future by using technology that allows his clients to relive any memory they want. However, when he falls in love with one of his clients (Rebecca Ferguson), Nicholas discovers she's hiding some dark and possibly dangerous secrets about her past. Westworld actors Thandie Newton and Angela Sarafyan costar in the film, which is slated to arrive on April 16, 2021.

Malignant

Malignant is the first original horror movie directed by James Wan since The Conjuring and is based on a story that he co-wrote with Ingrid Bisu (The Nun). In spite of what its title would imply, the film isn't connected to Wan's Malignant Man comic book and is led by a cast that includes Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), Jake Abel (Supernatural) and Mckenna Grace (Annabelle Comes Home). Malignant was initially scheduled to open in August 2020, but was later delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and is now confirmed to arrive at some point in 2021.

Dune

Directed by Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, Dune is the first of a planned two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's iconic sci-fi novel of the same name about the battle between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen for control of the desert planet Arrakis and its precious natural resource: "the spice." Led by a star-studded cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa and Zendaya, Dune was originally scheduled to open in late 2020 but is now set to arrive on October 1, 2021.

The Many Saints of Newark

The Many Saints of Newark is a prequel movie to The Sopranos that explores the tensions between the Italian-American and Black communities of Newark, New Jersey, in the 1960s and '70s. The film's cast includes Michael Gandolfini, Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Vera Farmiga and Ray Liotta. The movie was co-written by The Sopranos creator David Chase and directed by Alan Taylor, who helmed several episodes of The Sopranos in addition to Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys. After being delayed from its original release date in September 2020, it's now scheduled to arrive on March 12, 2021.

King Richard

Will Smith will return to the big screen in King Richard, a biographical drama about Richard Williams: the father and coach of tennis superstar siblings Venus and Serena Williams. Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men) directed the film, which costars Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams, Demi Singleton as Serena Williams and Aunjanue Ellis as the Williams sisters' mother and fellow coach Oracene Price. King Richard was still filming when the COVID-19 lockdown began, which led to it being delayed a year from its original Fall 2020 release date to November 19, 2021.

Cry Macho

Clint Eastwood directed and stars in Cry Macho as Mike Milo, a former rodeo star who takes a job transporting his ex-boss' young son across 1970s rural Mexico to his home in Texas. Cry Macho originated as a script that writer N. Richard Nash struggled to sell, which led to him reworking it into the 1975 novel of the same name. The film version has been in development hell ever since then and was nearly made by Eastwood in the late 1980s before he revisited it some thirty years later. It doesn't have a firm release date for now, but is confirmed to arrive in 2021.

Matrix 4

The Matrix 4 (official title TBA) is the fourth movie in The Matrix franchise and the first solo directed by Matrix co-creator Lana Wachowski. Although plot details are under wraps, The Matrix trilogy actors Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith are known to be starring in the film alongside franchise newcomers like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris and Priyanka Chopra. The Matrix 4 was postponed from May 2021 to April 2022 after its production was interrupted by the COVID-19 lockdowns, but it has since resumed filming and is now scheduled to premiere on December 22, 2021.

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