Brad Pitt Action Film Bullet Train Delayed to Summer 2022

Bullet Train, the upcoming action film starring Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock, has been delayed. The film, previously set to open in April, has been pushed to July. While the initial reaction may be that this means the production is troubled, or that the studio is worried about the latest COVID variant, it's equally likely that Sony is high on the movie, and thinks it can be competitive in the summer blockbuster marketplace. From Deadpool director David Leitch, the film centers on five assassins who find themselves on a Japanese bullet train, realizing that their individual assignments are not unrelated to the others.

Based on the book Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka from a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz, the film features a robust ensemble cast also including Joey King, Andrew Koji, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Benito A Martínez Ocasio. Not much is known about Bullet Train beyond the logline and cast, although obviously Leitch is a director that is likely to focus on high-octane action. The extra three months here likely means it will be a while before we get a first trailer for the film.

"Brad did 95 percent of his physical stunts — the fighting," Greg Rementer, the film's second-unit director and stunt coordinator recently told Vulture. "He's like a natural-born athlete. He really got in there!....Never have I ever done so many huge actors in one feature where all of them excelled at the physical movement of our training. So Brad, Brian, Michael Shannon, Hiroyuki Sonada, Andrew Koji — who was already a stud in terms of where he comes from with the show 'Warrior' — all these actors put out some great action and did a lot of their [own] stuff."

Footage from the film is reportedly the reason that actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was cast in Sony's Kraven the Hunter movie.

"We were fortunate to be shooting in LA during a time when artists were ready to get back to work and having Brad on the project — hot off an Oscar win and having a great script by Zak Olkewicz — really did attract the best people," Director David Leitch added. "We were able to get people back to work safely during a pandemic, which is pretty amazing."

Bullet Train will be released on July 15, 2022.