CinemaCon is a hotbed of news today and a lot of it seems to be coming from Universal. First there was the news that FAST AND FURIOUS 7 will hit summer 2015 alongside a sequel to sleeper hit PITCH PERFECT starring Anna Kendrick. Now we are hearing they are aiming for 2015 to also feature the follow-up to SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and possibly another chapter in the Bourne franchise.
The 2015 SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN release date is the first concrete news we have gotten on the project. After the Kristen Stewart/Rupert Sanders debacle in the tabloids, it remained unclear which, if either, would return for the second film. We know now that Stewart is in, but Sanders is out. With Charlize Theron‘s character, the lone bright spot in the original movie, not appearing in the second film, I would venture to guess the budget will be significantly lower that the estimated $200 million the first cost.
As for Bourne, the sequel is in some stage of development but Universal offered no details on whether or not it would feature Jeremy Renner reprising his role from THE BOURNE LEGACY or if it would return to the Matt Damon character, or possibly the rumored face-off between both characters. Matt Damon‘s slate is very full right now, but with LEGACY making less than any of the Damon films, it would be smart to have both stars share screen time.
Whichever way things go, Universal is looking to have one of the busier slates of movies compared to other studios. While most of them are sequels and not very many original projects, yet, it is looking like 2015 is going to be one hell of a year at the movies.