Universal Pictures recently pushed F9's release date back a year due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, and the studio has now been forced to also delay Minions: The Rise of Gru.
While it's more than a little concerning that a movie coming out that late in the summer has now been postponed, it's due to post-production being impossible to complete rather than concerns that theaters will still be closed by the first week of July (the spinoff was scheduled for July 3rd).
"In response to the severity of the situation in France, we are temporarily closing our Illumination Mac Guff studio in Paris," Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri said in a statement.
"With this decision we are abiding by the French Government’s guidelines and doing everything possible to slow the spread of the virus as we care for our artists and their families. This means we will be unable to finish Missions: The Rise of Gru in time for our planned global releases in late June and early July," he continued.
"While we all grapple with the enormity of this crisis, we must put the safety and protection of our employees above all. We look forward to finding a new release date for the return of Gru and the Minions." As of right now, there's no word on when that might be.
We'll keep you guys updated.