This year quickly proved itself to be a big one for blockbusters, and the years ahead aren’t looking any less busy. As the Hollywood studios continue to reveal more of their upcoming slates, Universal Pictures staked out three release slots beginning in 2018 for mystery “event films.” Here's a look at the mysterious dates revealed by the studio earlier today:
- Untitled Universal Film Event - August 10, 2018
- Untitled Universal Film Event - January 18, 2019
- Untitled Universal Film Event - April 10, 2020
Those years are big ones for Disney, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox, all of which are releasing superhero movies. Plus, the WB also has their King Kong-Godzilla cinematic universe and more sequels of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the years ahead. But Universal has their heavy hitters, too, especially Jurassic World, Fast and Furious, and their monstrous cinematic universe comprised of Dracula, mummies, and the like.
In addition to Fast and Furious 8 in April 2017, star Vin Diesel has teased two more movies in the core film saga in addition to a slew of spin-offs focusing on various characters. Hobbs already seems ripe for said treatment, though Dwayne Johnson has been playing coy. Universal has typically kept their Fast and Furious movies for April or summer releases, but the January slot would prove an interesting testing ground for one of these spin-offs. The month is a bit of a graveyard with little competition elsewhere and awards season films getting wider releases.
Another major franchise owned by Universal is Pitch Perfect, which continues to make money. The second installment proved the success of the first wasn’t just a fluke, and No. 3 is scheduled for a Christmas 2017 debut.
Universal already announced Jurassic World 2 to drop on June 22, 2018, as well as an “untitled Universal monster franchise film” on April 13, 2018. The following year will see another of this monsters stomping to the screen on February 15, 2019.
