Valkyrie Cruises Into Christmas Release

Tom Cruise's WWII-era thriller gets a third, and possibly final, release date of Dec. 26

By Gina Serpe Aug 14, 2008 5:25 PMTags
Tom Cruise, ValkyriePhil Bray/MGM

Tom Cruise's mission to get Valkyrie on the big screen was beginning to seem impossible. Here's hoping the third time's the charm.

For the third time in less than a year, MGM has changed the release date of Cruise's beleaguered WWII-era flick, though this time making the would-be release earlier than expected, finally allowing for some much-needed positive buzz for the film.

Previously scheduled for release on Feb. 13, 2009—its most recent premiere date after getting bumped from both June 27 and Oct. 3 openings—the Nazi-themed thriller will now bow on the historically hefty Christmas weekend, hitting theaters on Dec. 26 of this year.

"We saw and tested the movie," MGM's president of distribution, Clark Woods, said. "And we believe a strong movie deserves a strong playdate."

Cruise affects a German accent and historically accurate eye patch to play German war hero Col. Claus von Stauffenberg in the film, a Nazi colonel who plotted the only known assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler.

Should the original release date have held, the world would already be privy to his performance. As it is, the original June release date was pushed back to October late last year to allow director Bryan Singer more time to shoot a key battle sequence.

In April the date changed again, though that time the studio called it a tactical, rather than a delaying-the-inevitable, move, claiming they wanted to take advantage of the President's Day weekend at the box office.

Should the current release date stand, it'll be a Christmas miracle indeed.