One of my most anticipated releases of this year is Pan, Joe Wright’s spin on the origin story of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, which stars Hugh Jackman as the pirate Blackbeard. While the film was originally slated to drop in the middle of the summer movie season, Warner Bros. has elected to delay the release for a few more months, pushing the film back to October.
THR was the first to report the move, noting that the film would now be penciled in for an October 9 release. Here’s what Dan Fellman, the head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. had to say about the change:
“We wanted to give Pan the space to extend its theatrical run, so taking it out of the cluttered summer season made the most sense. Moving the film to the heart of the fall will allow us more time to screen the picture, enabling us to capitalize on what we anticipate will be strong word of mouth.”
Pan certainly would’ve had plenty to contend with if the studio had kept the original July 24 release date, opening against Pixels and fending off the previous weekend’s Ant-Man, so this feels like a pretty safe move. It’s a shame that we’ll have to wait a few more months for this one, but according to director Joe Wright, the extra time should allow for a better-looking film:
“As you might expect, the fantastical story of Peter Pan involves very complex effects and I did not want to compromise on quality in finishing the film. This allows me and my team the time to complete the movie and tell the story the way it should be told.”
Pan will be in theaters on October 9.
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes, “Pan,” a live-action Peter Pan feature directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement,” “Pride & Prejudice”). Offering a new take on the origin of the classic characters created by J.M. Barrie, the action adventure follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny—to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.
hugh jackman joe wright pan