Nicolas Pesce's The Grudge reboot is now going to hit theaters early next summer, on June 21st, as opposed to August 16th. This will undoubtedly be great news for fans of the franchise who have been waiting years to see the new reboot. This will be the second time that the 2002 Japanese film, Ju-on: The Grudge has received the reboot treatment. 2004 saw the release of the first American version of the movie, which was then followed by two sequels with varying degrees of success.

The fourth installment in The Grudge franchise was first announced back in 2011, when it was revealed that it would serve as a reboot. At the time, it was uncertain if the horror film was going to be released straight to VOD, like The Grudge 3. However, a lot has happened since then and the movie will definitely be hitting theaters. Three years after the reboot news, it was announced that Jeff Buhler had been hired to write the script for the reboot. It was revealed that the fourth installment would not be based on the previous films, and that it would introduce new ghosts along with a new mythology.

While The Grudge reboot is introducing new elements, it will still hold the concepts and spirits of the original movies. Nicolas Pesce came on board to direct the project in 2017, and promised that it would be a lot grittier than the previous installments with a realistic approach. Production on the film started in May 2018 and went into late June, giving Pesce a year to put the movie together for its new release date.

While the updated release date for The Grudge reboot is certainly great news for fans, it also sees the film going up against Disney's Toy Story 4, which will be released on the same day, meaning that chances of a number one debut for the horror film are slim to none. With the horror genre becoming more and more popular as of late, there was a good chance that the reboot could've taken the number one spot at the box office in its previous August release date. However, the earlier date suggests that the studio has a lot of faith in what Nicolas Pesce and Jeff Buhler have been able to cook up with The Grudge reboot.

The Grudge reboot will also have to battle at the box office with X-Men: Dark Phoenix and the Men in Black reboot, which will have been in theaters for a few weeks by the time that the horror film hits theaters on June 21st. It will be interesting to see how fans of The Grudge franchise take to the new reboot, which will contain new elements. The Grudge 3 received mixed, but mostly negative reviews when the film was released in 2009. In addition, the second installment was widely panned as well, leaving one to question if we really need another film in the franchise. The Grudge reboot release date change was first reported by Deadline.