Spike Lee Won’t Return to Movie Theaters Until There’s a Coronavirus Vaccine

Even though Christopher Nolan is hoping Warner Bros. will release Tenet into movie theaters in July, there’s one director who isn’t prepared to go back to movie theaters yet. Spike Lee has emphatically said that not only is he skeptical about getting back to work on his upcoming projects, but he won’t be going back to a movie theater until there’s a coronavirus vaccine.

Spike Lee is making the publicity rounds for his upcoming Netflix movie Da 5 Bloods, and he was asked by Vanity Fair when he might be able to start work on his next movie, an adaptation of the graphic novel Prince of Cats that’s set up at Legendary Pictures. Lee said:

“They ain’t doing a thing until the vaccine. I know I’m not going to a movie theater. I know I’m not going to a Broadway show. I know I’m not going to Yankee Stadium. Corona is a bitch. Corona is not playing. You fuck around you’re going to get killed, you’re going to die. I’m not ready to go.”

Even though Spike Lee won’t return to movie theaters, I can’t help but notice that he didn’t mention avoiding Madison Square Garden. We know he’s a hardcore New York Knicks fan, but is he literally a die-hard fan? Probably not.

For his part, Lee doesn’t see how it will be safe to resume production in the near future. The director added:

“How are you going to do a love scene anymore, or an intimate scene? I mean, are you going to do a movie by remote, like ‘Saturday Night Live’? I don’t know how you do that. So, we’re on pause now.”

Production was supposed to begin on Prince of Cats this summer, but clearly that’s not happening now. Of course, a movie from Spike Lee will be worth the wait, and we’d rather that Hollywood take their time getting back to production so we don’t threaten the lives of anyone. Nobody on a film crew should have to be worried about their safety on the set of a movie.

As for movie theaters, that’s a whole other animal that will be dealt with sooner than later. While movie theaters are hoping to reopen in July, it still all hinges on whether Warner Bros. Pictures feels like they can have a successful enough box office opening with Tenet to risk releasing it in theaters that will be at limited capacity.

Are you ready to return to movie theaters?