The Chris Pratt-led Garfield movie is moving back, but at least it's still not on a Monday. In a slew of updates about their upcoming films, Sony Pictures announced that the animated feature will now release on May 24, 2024, instead of the originally planned February 16, 2024, premiere date. While it means a longer wait to see Pratt's take on the lasagna-loving feline, it does put the film in a more lucrative position as it is now slated for Memorial Day Weekend.
Garfield is based on the iconic orange cat from cartoonist Jim Davis which has been a part of pop culture since 1978 when the comic strip first began its run. Little else is known about the film right now as it's currently in pre-production, but it's likely we'll see the rest of Garfield's pals, particularly his owner Dave and dog pal Odie. It'll be the first time the franchise has been on the big screen since Bill Murray took up the role for 2004's Garfield: The Movie and its 2006 sequel Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. This adaptation comes from Alcon Entertainment and, unlike the Murray films, it will forgo the live-action and animation mix in favor of a fully animated film.
Already, the celebrity cast is one to get excited about with Pratt starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson who'll play Garfield's father Vic. It's one of two big upcoming voice roles for the Guardians of the Galaxy star who'll voice the iconic video game plumber Mario in Illumination and Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. movie in 2023. More recently, the cast has filled out for Garfield with Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, and Cecily Strong. More castings are expected to come as production gets underway on the film.
Mike Dindal will helm the film, marking his first turn as a director in over 17 years. He enjoyed a brief yet successful stint directing animated features, starting in 1997 with the Scott Bakula-led Warner Bros. film Cats Don't Dance and ending with the Disney film Chicken Little. Between the two, though, he created arguably his best feature with the classic The Emperor's New Groove which featured another star-studded cast headlined by David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, and Patrick Warburton. Garfield will see Dindal reunite with his writing partner from that film, Finding Nemo screenplay scribe David Reynolds.
DNEG Animation is the studio animating the film. They previously worked on Ron's Gone Wrong as well as Kid Cudi's upcoming animated special Entergalactic which will release later this month on Netflix. DNEG CEO Namit Malhotra and President Tom Jacomb will produce along with John Cohen, Steven P. Wegner, Andrew Kosove, and Broderick Johnson. Davis is also on board as an executive producer with Bridget McMeel and Craig Sost.
Garfield won't arrive in theaters until May 24, 2024, but for now, check out an interview Collider did with Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard ahead of the release of Jurassic World Dominion below.