Blumhouse and Sony's revamping of the old FANTASY ISLAND television program has finally set a release date — February 28th, 2020.
Deadline reports that the two studios, which are co-financing and producing the feature, have officially booked the early 2020 date as their moment to take their reimagining to the big screen, which seems safe for the moment, as no other big titles have been announced yet for that weekend.
Blumhouse's TRUTH OR DARE director Jeff Wadlow will direct the film from the script he has co-written with Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs. Although his previous endeavor was widely panned by critics, it made a boat load of money at the box office — about $176 million — especially given its very low budget. The movie is being described as a "tonal mix" between WESTWORLD and CABIN IN THE WOODS, and will center on a group of contest winners who arrive on the island in order ot live out their dreams, but instead find themselves trapped in various nightmare scenarios.
Michael Pena (ANT-MAN) will star as Mr. Roarke, the host of the titular island. Lucy Hale (TRUTH OR DARE) will appear as one of the guests, anxious to see her deepest fantasies come true. Jimmy O. Yang (CRAZY RICH ASIANS) has also been officially added to the lineup. Roarke warns the guests that they should never bank on what they fantasize.
Blumhouse had great success releasing the late February gem GET OUT last year. It will be interesting to see if this early year box office tactic works for the studio yet again with their reboot of the ABC classic show.