'The Great Gatsby': Joel Edgerton talks the film's delayed release date

Fans of Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling visuals and Leonardo DiCaprio’s suave ways were certainly disappointed Monday when Warner Bros. announced that its adaptation of The Great Gatsby is being pushed from a Christmas release to summer 2013.

But when EW caught up with Joel Edgerton — who plays Tom Buchanan in the adaptation — at the premiere of his upcoming family film The Odd Life of Timothy Green Monday night, he was much more upbeat.

“It’s just a little bit more time for us to look forward to it,” he said of The Great Gatsby. “I think it’s a really good thing, personally. I think summertime is a great time. And Gatsby [takes place] in the summer — it feels appropriate.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel does indeed take place in the summer of 1922, and in its release announcing the date change, Warner Bros. made clear it saw the movie playing better over the summer. Plus, the last half of December features no less than seven major releases, including The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Misérables, This is 40, Zero Dark Thirty, Jack Reacher, and Django Unchained. In that crowded a field, relocating to the summer could end up being a savvy move.

Read more:

‘The Great Gatsby’ moving to Summer 2013

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‘The Great Gatsby’: New photos from Baz Luhrmann’s take on the 1920s classic