Universal Pictures has taken the Chris Pratt-led tentpole, “Cowboy Ninja Viking,” off its schedule and undated the movie, which was previously set to release on June 28, 2019.

Sources tell Variety that the film is still in active development with Pratt, Priyanka Chopra, and director Michelle MacLaren remaining on board. Universal said it will be re-dated at a later time to accommodate production scheduling. Insiders say the studio delayed the film rather than rushing it out to make the June 28 deadline.

“Cowboy Ninja Viking” is based on the Image Comics graphic novel by A.J. Lieberman and illustrator Riley Rossmo. It was adapted by Dan Mazeau (“Wrath of the Titans”) and Ryan Engle (“The Commuter”). Craig Mazin wrote an earlier draft of the screenplay with an original version by “Deadpool” writers Paul Wernick and Everett David Reese.

The novel revolves around an assassin who manifests the toughest skills of three different personas: a cowboy, a ninja, and a viking.

Entertainment 360 — the production arm of Management 360 — Mark Gordon via eOne, Michael De Luca for Michael De Luca Productions, and Pratt will produce. VP of production Sara Scott will oversee production on behalf of the studio. [Source]

If you are a fan of Chris Pratt or Thor: Ragnarok, the upcoming movie project Cowboy Ninja Viking may be a good fit for you. The flick, based on a set of popular Image Comics, has been in development since way back in 2010, but in recent months the movie has started gaining traction again. Recently, we learned that Michelle MacLaren has been hired to direct Cowboy Ninja Viking, and now it looks like Thor: Ragnarok writer Eric Pearson will be joining the creative team. He’s signed on to rewrite the project, which hopefully means we’ll get a movie this time around.

To understand why Eric Pearson will be rewriting and not simply writing Cowboy Viking Ninja, you need to know some history. Originally, Paul Wernick and Everett David Reese were signed on to write the originally version of the movie, but then Disney dropped the project. It was picked up by Universal and Marc Forster signed on to direct, with Craig Mazin working on that draft of the script. At another point there were rumors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski would take over, but that didn’t happen. Cut to present day, and Universal Pictures is still involved with the project, just with Eric Pearson and Michelle MacLaren.

One stable thing about this movie has been Chris Pratt. The actor has been signed on for Cowboy Ninja Viking since 2014 and he’s stuck through various changes in terms of its development. Although he hasn’t been around since 2010 when the project first got off the ground, the fact that he’s stayed signed on for four years and through numerous changes is a good sign.

The actor has wanted to make the movie for several years.

Universal’s adaptation of Cowboy Ninja Viking, starring Chris Pratt, will hit theaters on June 28, 2019, the beginning of the lucrative July Fourth holiday corridor.

That’s welcome news for fans of the Image Comics graphic novel. The film, which has been in the works since 2014, is finally a go, with Michael De Luca coming aboard as one of the producers alongside Guymon Casady, Mark Gordon and Pratt.

Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World) stars as a new kind of assassin who manifests the toughest skills of three different personas. The graphic novel is from AJ Lieberman and illustrator Riley Rossmo.

Cowboy Ninja Viking further strengthens the relationship between Pratt and Universal, home of the Jurassic World franchise. The project is out to directors.

Pratt, who first became interested in Cowboy Ninja in 2014, is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors and has a full dance card. He was in theaters this summer in Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. He’ll make an appearance in The Avengers: Infinity War, which is set to bow May 4, 2018, while Jurassic World: Hidden Kingdom is slated to open June 22, 2018.

So far, the only other film scheduled to open on June 28, 2019, is Paramount’s untitled Transformers 7. [Source]