Universal isn't taking any chances when it comes to the release of Simon Kinberg's THE 355, a femme action flick that finds Jessica Chastain at the front of an ensemble cast. Originally, the film was meant to be released during Martin Luther King weekend 2021 but has since been moved to Martin Luther King weekend, January 14, 2022.
According to the film's description, THE 355 shows what happens when a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, and a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move.
Joining Chastain for the high-octane spy adventure is Lupita Nyong'o, Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz, Bingbing Fan, Édgar Ramirez, and Sebastian Stanamong several others.
Word has it that the studio is hoping that THE 355 has franchise potential, and ushers in another Bourne-like series, but with lethal ladies leading the charge. With its new date now set, THE 355 will go up against Warner Bros./MGM’s Sesame Street movie, Paramount/Spyglass’s reboot of Scream, and 20th Century Studios’ animated movie Nimona, for MLK box office supremacy. Woof. That's quite the spread if you ask me. Be that as it may, it's understandable why THE 355 would want to delay its theatrical release in light of theater closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fact of the matter is that even with a vaccine coming to certain areas of the world as early as December, we're still a long way off from theaters being deemed safe for the masses. Well, safe might not be the word. It's more of a trust issue at this point, I think, seeing as lots of theaters have already spent millions on making their establishments COVID-ready.
Kinberg is set to direct THE 355 from a screenplay he co-wrote with Theresa Rebeck. The film is one of many projects to be moved well into the future on account of wanting to give theaters time to reopen and stabilize after a devastating hit to the film industry as a whole.
What do you all think of this news? Do you trust Kinberg to launch a successful action franchise with actors like Chastain, Nyong'o, Cruz, Kruger, and Fan a part of the bill? Sound off in the comments section below and tell us your thoughts.