Deadline reports that release dates for films I’m looking forward to have been finalized. The first is that Ben Affleck’s followup to his Best Picture Oscar-winning Argo, Live By Night has been pushed from December 25, 2015 to October 7th, 2016. No other films currently occupy that release date.
The second bit of news is that Midnight Special, the latest from Mud Director Jeff Nichols has set a release date for November 25th, 2015. The only other film slated to open that day currently is Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur.
To recap on the history of Live By Night, Ben Affleck had reached an agreement with Warner Bros that he would hold off on directing the film until he wrapped on Batman vs. Superman this summer where he’ll be donning the cowl as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Then earlier this year Warner Bros announced it was pushing the release date – and subsequently the production dates – for Batman vs. Superman to May 6th, 2016 to needlessly cram in characters for better prepare for Justice League. While many were talking about how Batman vs. Superman and Marvel’s Captain America 3 would be squaring off that weekend, I was stressing over where this shift left Live By Night. It looks like with this release date pushed, Affleck and Warner Bros have worked things out and it can be assumed that Affleck will now begin production on Live By Night in late 2015 after filming Batman vs. Superman. Ben Affleck has gone 3-3 in his directorial efforts and while this 4 year stretch will be the longest between his films it should be worth the wait. My only worry now is that plans may be tossed aside once again to make room for Justice League filming, though plans on the shooting schedule for that have yet to be announced. Live By Night will be released Oct. 7th, 2016. It will be written and directed by Ben Affleck and adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel that follows Joe Coughlin, a black-sheep son of a police captain who joins organized crime during Prohibition. No casting has been made on the film, but you can make a safe bet that Affleck will have a role for himself.
Jeff Nichols is one of my favorite working directors, with Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter and Mud all making for an iconic American filmography. Michael Shannon, who starred in all three of those films, will re-team with Nichols in a story with a science fiction edge. The plot follows a father who goes on the run with his son from government agents when he discovers his son has special powers. Masculinity and fatherhood have been a constant thematic undercurrent for Jeff Nichols, and it looks to continue here. Shooting on the film completed late last year so I was hoping to see it hit the silver screen sometime in the last quarter of 2014, but I will happily wait to see the next Jeff Nichols film as I know it will be worth the patience. Midnight Special will be released on Nov. 25th, 2015 and stars Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton and Adam Driver.
Source: Deadline
2 thoughts on “Release Date Roundup: “Live By Night” Pushed, “Midnight Special” Set”
Glad to see Affleck and Nichols’ latest have dates. Warner Bros. has quite the stable between the two of them and Christopher Nolan all operating in-house.
Indeed, they got quite the murderer’s row, and what’s even greater is the creative freedom they allow them. They get to make the movies they want, and those movies make good money. Everybody wins!