We’ve quite a bit of release date news to share this fine morning, as Universal has announced a slew of schedule changes.  Briefly:

  • With production set to begin in a matter of weeks, Kick-Ass 2 has been slated for a June 28th, 2013 release.
  • The Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg thriller 2 Guns has been given an August 16th, 2013 release date.
  • Director Richard Curtis’ (Love Actually) romantic time travel pic About Time, starring Rachel McAdams, has been dated May 10th, 2013.
  • The Keanu Reeves samurai pic 47 Ronin, originally set for a November 2012 release, has now been pushed back even further to Christmas 2013.
  • The re-release Jurassic Park 3D has been moved to April 5th, 2013.
  • The supernatural actioner R.I.P.D. starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds has been shifted to July 19th, 2013.
  • The Jason Bateman/Melissa McCarthy comedy Identity Thief has been moved up to February 8th, 2013.

Hit the jump for all the details, folks.

kick-ass-2-poster-banner

Kick-Ass 2 is officially a reality, as the film now has a firm release date.  Under the direction of Jeff Wadlow (the first film’s director, Matthew Vaughn, is onboard as a producer), the film has been given the prime summer release date of June 28th, 2013.  The pic will open against Shawn Levy’s comedy The Internship which reteams Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and Roland Emmerich’s now-untitled White House action thriller starring Channing Tatum (formerly referred to as White House Down).  Kick-Ass 2 sees the return of Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Additionally, the graphic novel adaptation 2 Guns has been slated for August 16th, 2013.  The pic stars Denzel Washington as Trench (a DEA agent) and Mark Wahlberg as Steadman (a naval officer), who team up to rip off the mob.  Neither realizes the other is undercover nor that they’re actually being set up to steal from the CIA.  Contraband director Baltasar Kormakur is at the helm.  The only other film currently slated for that August date is the sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, though it does open a week after the Robocop reboot.

47-ronin-keanu-reeves

Love Actually director Richard Curtis’ time travel romantic comedy About Time will open on May 10th, 2013.  The pic is described as a “fantastical feel-good movie about a man (Domhnall Gleeson) and his ability to travel back in time. He eventually meets the girl of his dreams (Rachel McAdams).  That release date puts About Time directly up against Tyler Perry Presents We the Peeples, as no other films are slated for that date at the moment.

The samurai film 47 Ronin will continue to be a big question mark for quite some time, as the ambitious actioner has been pushed back yet again from February to December 2013.  The Keanu Reeves-fronted pic was initially slated for November of this year but was then moved to February.  The film likely has a number of visual effects shots that need to be finished, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Carl Rinsch did some reshoots before it hits theaters.

jurassic-park

A move to somewhere like April or August would be cause for concern, but the prime holiday release signals that Universal likes what they see.  Also slated for Christmas Day 2013 at the moment are the DreamWorks Animaton film Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Ben Stiller’s remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

We’ll now be seeing the 3D re-release of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park much sooner than expected, as the film has been moved up from July 19th to April 5th.  The move is a smart one, as there’s a serious lack of big-budget or “spectacle” fare in April.  Jurassic Park 3D will open against the Colin Farrell/Noomi Rapace thriller Dead Man Down and director Paul Feig’s untitled Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy cop comedy (currently referred to as The Heat).

Director Robert Schwentke’s (Red) adaptation of the Dark Horse comic R.I.P.D. has been pushed back nearly a month from June 28th to July 19th, 2013.  The film centers on dead cops who work for the “Rest in Peace Department,” with Ryan Reynolds playing a newly deceased cop and Jeff Bridges taking on the role of his partner, a seasoned R.I.P.D. veteran.  The pic now takes the spot previously held by Jurassic Park 3D, and opens directly against DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo.  Bookending its release are Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim a week before and The Wolverine the week after.

Finally, Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon’s comedy Identity Thief has been moved up almost three months from May 10th to February 8th, 2013.  The film stars Melissa McCarthy as a woman who steals the identity of Jason Bateman’s character.  The pic now takes 47 Ronin’s previous spot and opens against Steven Soderbergh’s Bitter Pill and the Nicholas Sparks adaptation Safe Haven.