Over the weekend, Universal released a new one-sheet for Luc Besson’s Lucy, which you can see down below.
But the bigger news is that the studio has bumped up the release date a full two weeks, meaning we’ll get to see Scarlett Johansson’s expanded mind powers on July 25th as opposed to early July.
This might be seen as a vote of confidence in Lucy, putting it head-to-head against Brett Ratner’s Hercules (I can see the headlines now: “Scarlett Johnansson vs. The Rock”). It also moves Lucy out of the way of Guardians of the Galaxy, which will have been in theaters for a week at that point and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which, let’s face it, would have to be hot garbage to not be competition when it comes out on August 8th.
I won’t lie: I’m hoping Lucy isn’t just good, but connects with audiences. It’s not just that I’m in the bag for the movie’s preposterous and utterly fun-sounding concept (although, I am), but a win here could hopefully put Luc Besson back in the director’s chair for more action films. The French filmmaker has been writing and producing a string of successful films for the last 15 years, but since The Fifth Element, has stayed away from this kind of project, dipping his toe into comedy and animation.
Plus, a successful run for Lucy could perhaps start nudging some executives out there to greenlight more women-driven action films because in what world would anyone not want more butt-kicking heroines?
Here’s the official synopsis:
“From La Femme Nikita and The Professional to The Fifth Element, writer/director Luc Besson has created some of the toughest, most memorable female action heroes in cinematic history. Now, Besson directs Scarlett Johansson in Lucy, an action-thriller that tracks a woman accidentally caught in a dark deal who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.”
Does anyone else take issue with the tagline? The whole idea of humans only using 10% of their brain is beyond ignorant – it’s a ridiculous myth that’s been around forever and somehow, apparently, the marketing team for Lucy is stupid enough to think it’s true.
THANK YOU! The movie looks great, but when they said that line in the trailer I cringed. Now it’s the tagline? Ooof. Blerg.
Glad to hear someone else take issue with the whole 10% brain myth. When will we stop seeing this in movies.
Guardians of the Galaxy is hitting theaters on August 1st. Moving Lucy to the last weekend in July actually puts it closer to the Guardians release, and not further. There’s almost nothing going on July 25th, but with it being the week before Guardians and 2 before TMNT, its not going to have much time to prove itself, if it even does.
It’s a misprint. It was supposed to be released early Aug, not July