Although some big movie releases are hitting cinemas in the next month, there are still a number of movie studios continuing to shift their release schedules, and it looks like Sony Pictures has been doing a little rearranging with confirmation today that Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, the fourth and final installment of the franchise, will not be arriving in theaters until October 1, 2021.
The movie was originally meant to be released next month, and although no reason has been given for the change of date, there could be a number of factors contributing. With many big releases due in July, including Marvel's Black Widow, they may want to avoid that kind of competition. An October release would also obviously bring the movie closer to Halloween.
The sequel to 2018's Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is the first movie of the series to not have the participation of Adam Sandler in the lead role of Drac. Instead, the voice role is being taken over by Brain Hull, a name that may be unfamiliar to many, but who is probably best known for a 2013 YouTube video in which he performed the song 'Let It Go' in the voices of a dozen different Disney characters. After securing a small voice role in an episode of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, and playing Dracula in the short film Monster Pets, taking over Adam Sandler's character is his first big-screen part, and certainly an opportunity that doesn't come around too often.
The official synopsis of the final outing for the family-friendly monsters in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania has also been released.
"Drac and the pack are back, like you've never seen them before in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. Reunite with your favorite monsters for an all-new adventure that presents Drac with his most terrifying task yet. When Van Helsing's mysterious invention, the 'Monsterfication Ray,' goes haywire, Drac and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny becomes a monster! In their new mismatched bodies, Drac, stripped of his powers, and an exuberant Johnny, loving life as a monster, must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it's too late, and before they drive each other crazy. With help from Mavis and the hilariously human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent."
The movie also features voice performances by Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, Dave Spade and Molly Shannon among others. Much of the production of the movie was completed remotely due to the pandemic, which allowed it to remain pretty much on schedule through the global health crisis. Despite this, the film's release schedule has been much more of a fluid affair, having originally been listed to arrive in on December 22, then being moved forward to August 6, and then pushed up once again to July 23.
This latest move, while making a sensible decision to pitch the movie around Halloween, does suggest that Sony continues having a difficult time deciding where their many backlogged films should land, trying to capitalize on audiences returning to cinemas, but avoiding some of the big hitters that are littered on the schedule throughout the next few months. Perhaps the October 1 release will be the one they stick with.