Dwayne Johnson will be smacking down genetically-enhanced monsters one week earlier than expected! Warner Bros. will release the sci-fi action video game adaptation Rampage ahead of previously scheduled, moving the release date up a week from April 20 to April 13. The move comes on the heels of Marvel's clever Avengers: Infinity War switcheroo, which saw the long-awaited Avengers sequel bumped up a week from May 4 to April 27 in order to give the blockbuster Disney vehicle more space from the Star Wars spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Per THR, Rampage's subsequent bump is a response to Disney's schedule shakeup, designed to preserve the film's two-week cushion before Marvel's superhero epic stakes its box office claim. The move also forces Warner Bros. to step on their own toes a little bit. Rampage comes from the Warners sister studio New Line, and the new release date encroaches closer to Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One adaptation, a Warner property, which was poised to hold court for three weeks as the sole tentpole in theaters before the switch.
Rampage reunites Johnson with his San Andreas director Brad Peyton, and pulls from the 1980s video game, starring Johnson as a primatologist who has to save the day when three genetically-altered beasts -- a giant gorilla, wolf, and crocodile wreak havoc across the nation. The film also stars Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as well as P.J. Byrne, Marley Shelton, Breanne Hill, Jack Quaid, and Matt Gerald.
Here's the official synopsis for Rampage:
Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape into a raging monster. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered alpha predators. As these newly created monsters tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.
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