Fans of the ultra-violent film series, The Purge, will be disappointed to hear that the fifth chapter in the franchise has been placed on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The Forever Purge was originally slated for release on July 10th, 2020, but seeing as the outbreak is showing no signs of slowing down, Blumhouse Productions had few options besides indefinitely delaying the movie.
The decision to delay The Forever Purge isn’t entirely unexpected, though, considering that there has yet to be any footage or extended information released about it with less than two months before its original release date. What is known, however, is that writer and director James DeMonaco expects it to be the final entry in the series that began back in 2013 and has spawned a total of 3 sequels and a television show.
In a 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly, DeMonaco stated:
I have it in my head. I think I’m going to write it. I think it’s a great way to end it all. We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I’m very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home.
COVID-19 has had quite an effect on the world and the global economy. Along with its 4.5 million worldwide cases and staggering 304,000 deaths, it’s also responsible for putting millions out of work as businesses have been forced to shut their doors to the public. This has had a drastic impact on the entertainment industry as theaters have closed down, production has halted on most projects, and dozens of major films have seen delays.
The impact of the pandemic has resulted in AMC Theaters being at risk of closure or buy-out from another company like Amazon as well, a fate that could spread throughout the industry and see theaters begin phasing out. This ongoing hit to the box office may also mean that streaming and on-demand may be the future of movie releases.
Circling back to The Forever Purge though, and we’ll be sure to let you know when a new release date is announced.