In a move that’s only marginally less surprising than news that Roger Federer has won a tennis match without breaking sweat, Sony has pushed its big-budget action comedy, The Green Hornet, from its summer berth to a new date: December 17, 2010.
The decision to move the Seth Rogen starring/scripted superhero flick back by five months from its previous July 9 date was an easy one for Sony, given that director, Michel Gondry, will only call ‘action!’ for the first time this week.
With a pretty heavy effects component to complete, Gondry – who was a fairly late-in-the-process replacement for original director, Stephen Chow; a possible reason for the delay in going into production - will no doubt appreciate the extra five months he now has to finish the film, which stars Rogen as newspaper magnate Britt Reid, who becomes a masked crimefighter by night, aided by his faithful sidekick, Kato (Jay Chou).
Stephen Chow had also been set to play Kato, and exited the role a couple of months ago, instigating a worldwide search for an actor to fill the role. That may also have played a part in the decision to change the release date.
Cameron Diaz will also star in the movie, while Nicolas Cage had been in talks to star as the bad guy. There’s been no official confirmation on that front yet, though.
Oh, and one more thing: in its previous slot, The Green Hornet would have experienced direct demographic competition from Robert Rodriguez’s Predators. But the release change has put it up against the Yogi Bear Movie – one more reason why Gondry and co, like Monsieur Federer, won’t be breaking sweat over the date change.