Lionsgate's Horror Movie Antebellum Scores August Release Date

Lionsgate's horror film Antebellum has a new release date. The Janelle Monáe-starring film had originally been set to hit theaters on April 24th but was pulled from the schedule along with two other of Lionsgate's upcoming films in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as states slowly begin to reopen, the studio is hopeful that theaters will be open in late summer as well and that fans will be ready to head out to the movies, with Antebellum snagging an August 21st release date.

"We believe that by August 21st, audiences will be eager for the distinctive, unique story and voice of these groundbreaking filmmakers' debut, Antebellum," Lionsgate's David Spitz said (via Bloody Disgusting).

Directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, Antebellum stars Monáe as Veronica Henley, a successful author who finds herself trapped a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it's too late. The film also stars Marque Richardson II, Eric Lange, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Tongayi Chirisa, Gabourey Sidibe, Rob Aramayo, Lily Cowles, and Jena Malone.

Monáe has previously said that she feels her starring role in Antebellum will take her career in exciting new directions.

"I know that it's about to open up another dimension in my life as an artist and as an actor, and this is definitely one of my most layered and toughest roles to date," Monáe revealed to HuffPost. "So, I had to do some real meditation and prayer. I had to work out a lot. I had to get my head in the mental space to go through Veronica's journey."

Antebellum is the first feature-length directing project for Bush and Renz with Bush stating that the film's story was inspired by a nightmare he had following his father's death in which he thought he saw his ancestors sitting at the foot of their bed.

"I felt like the woman in the nightmare was so desperate for help that she was screaming through multiple dimensions and that this could exist in a different space and time," Bush admitted. "And then we built out the story. What people will experience in the movie is pretty much the nightmare."

Antebellum is the latest film to get a new release date in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Last Month, Escape Room 2 saw its release date shifted to January 1, 2021, though it recently had its date shifted back to December 30th.

Antebellum is now set to hit theaters on August 21st.