Warner Bros. has delayed its Ben Affleck drama The Way Back from October 2019 to March 2020. The upcoming film has gone through a few title changes and been referred to The Has-Been and Torrance at different points in time. Affleck stars in the movie as a former basketball superstar who, in an attempt to put his addiction problems behind him, takes up a job coaching high school basketball at his alma mater. The Way Back reunites the Oscar-winner with his The Accountant director, Gavin O'Connor, and marks his first movie with WB since Justice League came out two years ago.
With O'Connor directing from a script that he cowrote with Brad Ingelsby (Out of the Furnace), some have speculated that The Way Back could end up becoming a dark horse awards season contender this fall. The fact that the film parallels Affleck's own real-world struggles with addiction only adds a deeper layer of meaning to what already sounds like a promising drama on paper. The situation has since changed, however, and The Way Back is no longer hitting theaters this year at all.
According to Deadline, WB has decided to shift The Way Back's release date back from October 18, 2019 to March 6, 2020. The outlet adds that early test screenings for the film have been positive, so this delay isn't necessarily a sign of trouble. Rather, the indication is that WB believes O'Connor's movie would be better served commercially on its new date.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like The Way Back might be more of a crowd-pleaser (albeit, a serious one that's targeted at adults) than previously expected. To be fair, though, WB wasn't exactly counting on it having awards potential anyway. Instead, the studio is going to give films like The Goldfinch and Joker a big Oscar push and premiere them on the festival circuit ahead of their theatrical runs in September and October, respectively. In addition, The Way Back's date change gives it a better shot at box office success. Where it would've had to face-off with Zombieland: Double Tap and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil on its former date, it can now serve as counter-programming to Pixar's Onward when it opens next March.
Affleck, meanwhile, will still be making his way back to theaters this fall thanks to his cameo in Kevin Smith's upcoming Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (where he reprises his View Askewniverse role as Holden McNeil). The actor-filmmaker is also gearing up to reunite with his real-life BFF Matt Damon on the big screen in Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, an already-controversial historical drama that Affleck and Damon are scripting with Nicole Holofcener (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). That's to say, like his character from The Way Back, Affleck could be on the verge of making a comeback himself.
Source: Deadline
