Belay that movie!

Two of Paramount Pictures’ upcoming genre films are the latest casualties in the ever-changing pandemic-affected cinematic release schedule.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, a prequel in the sci-fi action franchise, has been moved back a year. It was originally scheduled to open June 24th, 2022 and will now debut on the big screen nearly a year later, on June 9th, 2023. The as-yet untitled Star Trek movie was supposed to premiere on June 9th, 2023, but got bumped to a Christmas release, bowing on December 22nd, 2023 to open up the window for Transformers.

The decision to make the major date changes came right when newly installed Paramount CEO Brian Robbins assumed control of the studio’s releases.

The schedule change puts the films up against serious competition, provided no the schedule stays intact. The next Transformers chapter is currently scheduled to hit theaters on the same day as an untitled Sony-Marvel blockbuster opens, and now the Star Trek movie will be in the cinemaplex next to Disney’s Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. The other space spinoff is coming from director Patty Jenkins.

The Transformers sequel stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback and is being directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II). The movie is set in 1994, but specific plot details are not available. Transformers, based on the Hasbro toy line, has been financially (if not critically) successful for Paramount. The first entry debuted in 2007 and featured Shia LaBeouf as a plucky teenager who finds himself in the middle of an epic battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. Several sequels and one spinoff followed.

Even less is known about the Star Trek entry, but the reboot (Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg) have appeared in all films in the franchise thus far, beginning with the JJ Abrams-directed Star Trek in 2009, and followed by 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, and the most recent effort, 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, directed by Justin Lin. Director Noah Hawley was scheduled to helm the project, but there were creative differences. Now WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman has been hired to direct, with Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet writing.