Andy and Lana Wachowski were on top of the sci-fi world back in 1999, when their blockbuster The Matrix redefined the genre. However, their star dimmed over the next decade as disappointing Matrix sequels were followed by flops like Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas.

Jupiter Ascending was expected to mark a major comeback for the duo, but on Tuesday Warner Bros. made the announcement that the sci-fi action film was being bumped from its original release date in July to February 2015. This is very ominous, because when a movie is bounced from the season of hot summer blockbusters to the mid-winter dumping grounds, it shows that the studio lacks confidence in the film.

Jupiter Ascending would seem to have the makings of a huge hit, with stars Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis plus over 2,000 special effects. This rescheduling does not bode well for the future of the Wachowskis, since Jupiter Ascending was supposed to be the film that put them back on top.

So what went wrong with the film and the career of this once-dynamic duo? Entertainment Weekly asked two of their film critics, Jeff Labrecque and Darren Franich, to give their opinions on whether the Wachowskis can revive their brand.

Here is what Labrecque had to say about the problems of the Wachowski films following The Matrix: “I think it has something to do with excess, not unlike the common reaction to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. There was something magically balanced and fresh about the first film, and then once Disney/Depp/Verbinski isolated what they thought we wanted, they just kept pushing the button until they made us lose the taste for it.

“I fear the Wachowskis are on the cusp of falling into a similar place perceptionwise, with the first Matrix being that iconic, truly great movie experience and everything after a pale imitation.”

Franich countered by citing a scene from the flop Speed Racer: “But watching that scene, it strikes me just how far the Wachowski sibs went down into their own curious rabbit hole. They became famous with The Matrix, a movie that literally raged against the machine, with a protagonist escaping a digital world. Speed Racer is a movie that fully embraces the machine, set in a digital world that doesn’t even try to look real.

“Like you,” he said, “I hope Jupiter taps into that same spirit. But I feel like I’m coming out of this conversation more worried about the Wachowskis than I was before. Did they get beaten by the Matrix? Or did they become the Matrix?”

It looks like sci-fi fans will have to wait until February 2015 to find out the answer to that question.