If you were itching to see filmmaker Richard Linklater’s next movie later this year, I have some bad news. Despite the fact that the untitled picture (previously called That’s What I’m Talking About) is nearly finished, Paramount Pictures has opted not to release the film this year and has instead slotted it for release on April 15, 2016, per THR. The move likely has more to do with scheduling than awards consideration—Paramount initially planned to release the comedy Bad Moms on that April date, but after star Leslie Mann and producer Judd Apatow pulled out of the project last month, it has since stalled and won’t make that date. We’ll be getting Linklater’s Dazed and Confused spiritual sequel instead.
The untitled film takes place over the course of a single weekend in the 1980s and revolves around a college freshman and pitcher for the baseball team. Just as he did with Dazed and Confused, Linklater filled out the cast of this movie with largely unknowns—Blake Jenner (Glee), Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street), Zoey Deutch, Will Brittain, and Glen Powell.
Annapurna Pictures produced the film, which will square off against Jon Favreau’s live-action The Jungle Book for Disney, the Universal comedy The Best Man Wedding, and Lionsgate’s Mechanic: Resurrection on that April date. However, the film will almost certainly premiere at one of the early 2016 film festivals like Sundance or Berlin beforehand.
While it’s a bit of a bummer to hear that we won’t get Linklater’s Boyhood follow-up this year, at least we won’t be waiting for too long. And with the baseball/college-centric premise, the picture has the potential to be a hit with general audiences in the April slot as well. Whatever the case, this is now one of my most anticipated films of 2016.
