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1You see a preview of what seems to be a big movie coming out. It gives you the date and you're all hyped up. But when the big day finally comes, it's not there.
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3This trope is about delays between the release of a teaser trailer or poster and the release of the movie itself, or even if it never gets released at all. The film could be in DevelopmentHell or is facing delays. The release dates may change in such cases and on some rare cases, they may never get released at all.
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5Not to be confused with ReleaseDateChange, where the change in release is minor and is done to avoid competition with other films.
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7----
8!!Examples:
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10[[foldercontrol]]
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12[[folder: Comic Books ]]
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14* Creator/ArchaiaEntertainment's Free Comic Book Day compilation for 2012 included a one-shot story based on the film ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', "Hoggle and the Worm", to whet appetites for a graphic novel prequel (revealing the backstory of fan favorite [[Music/DavidBowie Jareth the Goblin King]]) that had been announced for year's end. But the book's release date was pushed back to April 2013, and then to an unspecified date in 2014...''Labyrinth: Coronation'', a 12-issue miniseries, finally arrived in February 2018.
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18[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]
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20* The teaser trailer for ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves'' appeared on the 1995 VHS of ''Film/AngelsInTheOutfield'' and said it was to be released in Fall 1995, but it didn't come out until August 1996. (The delay came about due to Disney getting Creator/RobinWilliams back as the voice of the Genie -- midway through production.)
21* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndMisterFreezeSubZero'' had a teaser on the VHS release of ''Film/SpaceJam'' and a trailer on each video released in the 2nd wave of the ''Adventures of Batman & Robin'' videocassettes, stating that it was being released in the summer of 1997. It would be released in the Spring of 1998. This was because of the negative feedback of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', since they both featured Mr. Freeze and the studio was afraid the connection would hurt sales of the animated film.
22* The VHS of ''[[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1998 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie]]'' has a sneak preview for ''In Search of Santa'', a DirectToVideo Christmas film from the same animation company as ''Rudolph'', which promised for a 2D animated release in Christmas 1999 from [=GoodTimes=] Entertainment. The release of this didn't happen until ''five years later'', when it was executed as a computer animated movie and released by Miramax.
23* At the end of the 1998 VHS of ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'' was a short trailer announcing that the direct-to-video sequel ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTrampIIScampsAdventure'' would be released in 2000, but it ended up being released in February 2001.
24* Creator/DonBluth had some pretty bad luck with this in the early '90s:
25** A sneak preview of ''WesternAnimation/RockADoodle'' appeared at the beginning of the 1990 VHS of ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', with a vague "coming soon" disclaimer, as MGM had initially planned a Thanksgiving 1990 release date, but then shifted the release to sometime in Spring 1991, before the studio dropped the film and it ended up being released by The Samuel Goldwyn Company due to production issues. It was rescheduled for Thanksgiving 1991, but moved again to April 1992 to avoid competition with ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' and ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest'' (the film was released in Europe in Summer 1991 though).
26** Later, the 1992 VHS of ''WesternAnimation/RockADoodle'' had a sneak preview of ''{{WesternAnimation/Thumbelina|1994}}'', which said it was to be released by MGM, but due to to production difficulties, it was released by Warner Bros. in March 1994.
27* The teaser poster for ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'' was released in 1990, but the film didn't come out until 1992 in Europe and 1993 in the U.S.
28* A teaser for ''WesternAnimation/JetsonsTheMovie'' (which appeared on the VHS release ''Jetsons: The First Episodes'') promised a release for Christmas 1989, but it ended up being released in the summer of 1990, most likely so it wouldn't compete with ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989''.
29* Many animated movies released in 2012, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}}'', showed the trailer for ''Animation/DinoTime'' with a December 7, 2012 release date before the film got eventually pulled from a theatrical release with no explanation given. It would eventually be released DirectToVideo as ''Back to the Jurassic'' in 2015.
30** In a similar vein to this, ''WesternAnimation/TheStar'' had the trailer for ''WesternAnimation/DuckDuckGoose'' attached to it with an April 2018 release date before its' release was moved to be DirectToVideo after Open Road Films realized it would be competing with ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', which became the biggest film of 2018.
31* The Disney dub of ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'' was supposed to be released onto VHS in North America in 1999 and was advertised on the VHS releases of ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'', but was delayed until 2003 for unknown reasons.
32* ''WesternAnimation/MinionsTheRiseOfGru'' came out nearly '''two and a half years''' after its first trailer was released due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic wrecking theatrical release dates and production schedules.
33* The first teaser for ''[[WesternAnimation/ShaunTheSheep Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie]]'' screened before USA showings of ''WesternAnimation/EarlyMan'' in February 2018. It took two years and a ChannelHop from Creator/{{Lionsgate}} to Creator/{{Netflix}} before the film was finally released stateside.
34* The teaser for ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'', which gave a November 1998 release date, appeared on VHS prints of ''Dennis the Menace Rides Again''. The actual film would be released on December 31, 1999.
35* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' was originally announced to have a global release of Holiday 2022, with December 21 being specific to North America, during the September 23, 2021 broadcast of ''WebVideo/NintendoDirect''. The following April, Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto announced through Nintendo's social media that he and producer Chris Meledandri have decided to push the release back to Spring 2023, with April 7 for North America and April 28 for Japan. Then, by October and November of 2022, the first two trailers released, with the April 7, 2023 release date attached. But then in February 2023, the film's release date changed again, this time to April 5.
36* The first teaser trailer for WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}} debuted with WesternAnimation/{{Beowulf|2007}} in late 2007, but the actual movie didn't come out until over a full year later in February 2009.
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39[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]
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41* ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' had an teaser trailer released in early 1991, which promised a vague 1992 release date and the image of a facehugger egg opening over Earth itself. Although the film was released in May 1992, it was held up by production woes that lasted through the winter of 1991, and the hinted plot in the trailer (xenomorphs take over Earth) was completely different to the final product.
42* Trailers and posters for ''Film/BigTrouble'' were shown in the summer of 2001 with a release that September, [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents but because of 9/11]], it was delayed until April 2002.
43* The teaser trailer for ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' promised a Summer 1992 release, but it was pushed back to that November.
44* ''Film/CharlieBartlett'' was set to open on August 3rd, 2007 and had trailers, posters and TV spots but MGM delayed it due to financial issues and a crowded release schedule. Amazingly enough, the studio never had the TV spots pulled and TV stations were still running the ads with the old date the week of the canceled release date. MGM finally released the film on February 22nd, 2008.
45* ''Film/CollateralDamage'' was to be released in October 2001, [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents but due to the 9/11 attacks]], the film was postponed until it was released in February 2002 with major edits.
46* The trailer for ''Film/GangsterSquad'' was released in May 2012, with the trailer advertising a release in Fall 2012. But after the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, the film had to be reshot to lose a similar sequence that had appeared in that trailer, and was thus released in January of 2013.
47* The initial trailers and print ads for ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'' had a listed release date of June 29, 2012. The film was then pushed back, just weeks before its release, to add 3D effects and add more footage with Channing Tatum's character, Duke. The film was finally released on March 28, 2013.
48* Trailers for ''Film/HouseOf1000Corpses'' were released in 2000 by Universal but the studio dropped the film due to its graphic content. It would be released in 2003 with Creator/LionsGate distributing.
49* ''Film/{{Ishtar}}'' had its trailer released in August 1986 with plans to open the film around Thanksgiving 1986. However, extensive re-editing pushed the film back to May 1987.
50* ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' sent out a trailer in Spring 2012 with a June release date promised, but Creator/WarnerBros decided to push it back to March 2013 and changed the title -- it was originally ''Jack the Giant Killer'' -- in the interim.
51* The 1991 souvenir program for the U.S. tour of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' included an ad promising a film version via Creator/TriStarPictures for 1993. That movie didn't arrive until '''2012''', and Universal produced it. A Columbia/Tristar-produced non-musical version starring Creator/LiamNeeson was released in 1998.
52* Trailers for the Creator/DolphLundgren ''[[Film/ThePunisher1989 Punisher]]'' movie appeared in 1989 promising a Summer release date from New World Pictures. Unfortunately, thanks to a corporate restructuring, New World got out of the movie business and it ultimately went [[DirectToVideo straight-to-video]] in the Spring of 1991, though it was still released theatrically overseas.
53** Around the same time, New World prepared trailers for ''Film/Warlock1989'' with a vague "Coming Soon" disclaimer attached to it, because it was planned to be released sometime in 1989, which it did, ''in some foreign territories'', again due to the same corporate restructuring happening at New World. Instead, the U.S. distribution rights were sold to Trimark and got a theatrical release there in January 1991.
54* Trailers for ''She's Having a Baby'' were released in January 1987 with VHS copies of ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' but the film wasn't released until February 1988 due to director Creator/JohnHughes having production problems with ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles''.
55* Initial trailers for the WWII melodrama ''Shining Through'' indicated a vague "Fall 1991" release date (possibly as a potential candidate for Oscars), but 20th Century Fox ultimately [[DumpMonths dumped the film into a January slot]] in 1992, and became a critical and commercial disaster.
56* The trailer for ''[[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', which had a November 8, 2019 was attached to fellow video game movie ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''. However, severe backlash over the titular character's design lead to the trailer being pulled and the release date being moved to February 14th, 2020 to modify the character.
57* A live-action ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' movie was to be released in Christmas 1986 by Cannon and a short teaser and poster were released, but it sadly never came to be. The reasons why are long, complicated and infamous, with the eventual result being Sony/Columbia Pictures taking over the license and releasing their own franchise based around the property.
58* ''Film/TheThirteenthWarrior'' had its first trailer released in January 1998, with the {{working title}} ''Eaters of the Dead'' (also the title of the book it was based on). The film came out in August 1999 with its revised title.
59* The trailer for ''Film/JupiterAscending'' promised a July 2014 release date, but a month before its intended release, it was bumped ahead to February 2015 due to the filmmakers believing that the special effects wouldn't be finished before then.
60* The first trailer for ''Justice League'' was uploaded in March 2017 for a November 2017 release. Most of the scenes in it ended up cut from the theatrical film. ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' (released five years later in March 2021 on Creator/HBOMax) featured them all.
61* Subverted in the case of the Ben Stiller movie ''Film/TheWatch2012'', about a neighborhood watch group that encounters aliens. The film was originally titled ''Neighborhood Watch'' and had the misfortune of starting its marketing campaign around the time of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin Trayvon Martin shooting]], in which 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot dead by a member of the neighborhood watch. The title and marketing strategies of the movie was changed, however, 20th Century Fox refused to change the premiere date.
62* The first trailer for ''Film/TheNewMutants'' was released October 2017 for an April 2018 release in mind, before the film was delayed for years due to a series of production delays related to Fox's own release schedule, the company's acquisition by Disney and their plans to implement it into the release schedule, and finally '''a global pandemic''' hitting a few weeks before the intended release date. The poor movie finally caught a break by releasing in August 28th, but not before the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGcU0JKAL5U Comic Con At Home panel poked fun at the constant delays]].
63* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4HyI0i1mPM first teaser trailer]] for ''Film/SonOfTheMask'' screened in front of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'', saying it would come out sometime in 2004. It ultimately came out in February 2005.
64* Another film affected by the coronavirus pandemic is Disney's live-action remake of ''Mulan'', with its poster stating it would come out March 27, 2020, before its delay to the following summer.
65* The first two trailers for ''Film/DunePartTwo'' were released in May and June 2023, with a November 3, 2023 release date attatched. The film's final release date ended up being March 1, 2024 instead due to the effects of the [[UsefulNotes/TVStrikes SAG-AFTRA strike]].
66* ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'', ''Film/FreeGuy'' and ''Film/InTheHeights'' came out nearly '''two and a half years''' after their first trailers were released due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic wrecking theatrical release dates and production/filming schedules. This is Lampshaded with ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' and ''In The Heights'', when they were shifted to their final June and November 2021 release dates respectively, their first trailers were updated to say they were coming out in 2021.
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69[[folder: Music]]
70* Music/{{Beck}}'s album ''Colors'' was announced in 2015 with the single "Dreams", delayed to 2016 (in which "Wow" was suppose to promote it), then finally released in 2017. Interviews over the period had him confused that his record company was taking so long with it, and after its delay until 2017, he felt the material had got so old he remixed it, after which it finally got released.
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73[[folder: Video Games ]]
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75* Endemic in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'''s TroubledProduction. Between leaks that necessitated major changes, tweaks from playtesting results, and the game just plain not being ready, Valve was forced to announce new release dates several times -- including, infamously, once delaying the game ''on its release day''. This led to the [[https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time "Valve Time"]] [[Memes/ValveCorporation meme]]. Not coincidentally, [[RealSoonNow Valve no longer makes a habit of giving release dates]] until just before release.
76* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' was slated for a 1997 release, with toys appearing at Taco Bell that same year, but it was pushed back to 1998. As a way of making up for the delay, Banjo appeared in ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing''.
77* The Sega Genesis port of ''Lufia & the Fortress of Doom'' was advertised with a delay to Spring 1995 ("It's worth the wait!") but never released due to Taito America's closure.
78* 2006 trailers for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' said it would be released in 2007. It actually ended up being released in 2008 instead.
79* The ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' sequel for Wii U was announced in early 2013 under the working project name of X, and was slated for a 2014 release. When E3 rolled around the following year, the game was still far from completion, so it was pushed back until 2015 under the title ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX''.
80* ''VideoGame/TotalDistortion'' (the game where the "'''YOU ARE DEAD! DEAD, DEAAAAAAD!'''" meme came from) was set to ship in late 1993, but production issues caused it to be released in November 1995 instead.
81* During E3 2017, ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' was announced to have an enhanced graphics pack called the "Super Duper Graphics Pack", with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyr3XZrZssk the trailer revealing the pack]] announcing it will be "COMING THIS FALL". Later that November, the pack wasn't released, but a special music video featuring Music/MelissaBenoist was released to promote the pack, which is now teased to be "COMING 2018". Nothing else was said about the pack until August 2019, when it was announced to be cancelled due to technical difficulties.
82* The first trailer for ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' ended with a "Coming 2014" release date. The second trailer had a "Coming Soon" date, which didn't look good. It ended up being delayed to 2015, finally releasing June 23 of that year.
83* ''Rivals 2'', the sequel to ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'', was first teased in the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN1RtDYPiz4 Expanding Aether Montage]]" video to be released during the year 2023. When the game was fully revealed in 2022, the projected release date was changed to 2024.
84* When ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}: The Delicious Last Course'' was originally announced in 2018, it was said to be coming in 2019. When 2019 came, another trailer claimed it was coming in 2020. The expansion wouldn't release until 2022.
85* When ''VideoGame/PokemonSleep'' was originally announced in late May 2019, it came with a projected release date of 2020. The year came and went with no official word on the game. It wouldn't be until late February 2023 when ''Sleep'' finally got its gameplay reveal, with a new release date slated for that summer.
86* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]] 1 + 2: [[VideoGameRemake Re-Boot Camp]]'' was initially supposed to be released in December 2021, but complications regarding the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic forced it to be delayed to April 2022. ''Then'' Russia invaded the Ukraine, [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents causing it to be delayed]] ''again''. It was finally released in April 2023.
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89[[folder: Western Animation ]]
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91* An original promo for ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' was released on video with ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'' promising a premiere in November 1998. Post-production delays ended up pushing the premiere to January 1999.
92* The first teaser for ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' premiered on Creator/CartoonNetwork during a ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' marathon on January 1, 2010. The show would premiere in May 2011.
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