'The Croods' Take Universal's Fight To Covid-19!

The world’s first family is back – and they about to take on COVID-19 … and 007?!

While many studios, Universal included, have been pushing their films back until 2021 due to the current pandemic, the studio has surprised everyone by actually bringing forward a title by almost a month. Instead of opening on December 23rd as it was planned to do, the animated sequel ‘The Croods: A New Age‘ has moved forward to November 25th. It appears that Universal has heard the as yet unconfirmed rumors that Disney is going to remove its animated film ‘Soul‘ from the release slate, possibly going straight to PVOD on Disney+ instead. And with the rumor that Disney is also about to move ‘Black Widow‘ out of 2020 and scheduling it in for a possible February 2021 release, it seems Universal are confident that they can pick up the slack and make some much-needed revenue.

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One slightly confusing thing is the fact that ‘The Croods‘ will now open on the same day as Universal’s own James Bond film ‘No Time To Die‘. Although it’s more than likely that 007 will not be too affected by the animated film going up against it, it does throw up a few questions. Eon Productions, the makers of the James Bond Franchise have been extremely quiet as of late, apart from the launch of a few new images, posters and behind the scenes look at some of the new characters the film will introduce. They haven’t commented on the rumor that the film is likely to be moved to 2021 that has been doing the rounds for a while now. So far, all signs point to them releasing the film in November as planned but its been strangely quiet on its strategy. With ‘The Croods: A New Age‘ moving to be released the same day as Daniel Craig’s final Bond adventure, could it be that Universal already know that 007 won’t open this year and have moved the film to fill in the hole that Bond will leave? It is feasible and easy to assume that this COULD be the case.

‘The Croods: A New Age‘ boasts the vocal talents of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Kelly Marie Tran, Catherine Keener, Peter Dinklage, Clarke Duke, Cloris Leechman, Joanna Lumley, and Leslie Mann. This time around, the Croods find themselves challenged by a new family, the Betterman’s, who believe they are more evolved and are better than them.

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I enjoyed the first film and I do think this sequel sounds enjoyable enough to take a seat and see inside a theatre but I can’t speak for the rest of the world and its audiences. But perhaps the film is just what we need to take our minds off of what’s going on outside, to have some fun, laughs and enjoyment for a couple of hours. Time will tell when the film opens on November 25th.

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Carl Roberts is a Senior Entertainment/Books and Literature Correspondent for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!

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(Source: Deadline)