Clifford the Big Red Dog Delayed Indefinitely due to COVID-19

Well…it’s happening again. After a summer movie season filled with theatrical-exclusive entertainment, and with a road to recovery seemingly appearing possible, Paramount Pictures has pulled its Clifford the Big Red Dog live-action adaptation, due to concerns regarding the Delta variant of COVID-19, Deadline reports. The Delta variant has been the cause of many surges of COVID-19 in several parts of the world, including the United States, which has recently ramped up its vaccination efforts in order to stop the virus from spreading further to the population.

The film, directed by Walt Becker and starring David Alan Grier, Derby Camp, Jack Whitehall, and John Cleese, was supposed to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as a Gala Presentation, but it is now unclear whether it will get released during the fall, possibly later in the year or in 2022. It’s also unclear whether or not if it will still be premiering at TIFF, as the movie is being distributed by eOne in Canada. As of right now, the movie has been pulled from the TIFF website, likely a sign that it isn’t premiering at the festival anymore and will likely wait until the surge has passed in the U.S. and vaccination rates have gone up before releasing.

This could mark another wave of titles being pushed back again (which, if we’re completely honest with each other, shouldn’t happen anymore), with more movies getting delayed and could cause another major cataclysmic shift in Hollywood, after a campaign on the big screen was pushed to drive audiences to cinemas. However, hope may be on the horizon, as The White House has reported that more American adults are getting their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine than at any time during the past two months. Some may say “better late than never,” but this could drastically change the trajectory of the surge and end it dead in its tracks.

You can watch Clifford’s trailer below, and hope the film will come out sooner than later:

If you haven’t gotten a vaccine, you can find locations at vaccines.gov