Warner Bros. Moves Multiple DC Movie Premieres Amid Shuffle Of Its Release Calendar
More shakeups are happening at Warner Bros. Discovery, this time in the form of a major shuffling of its theatrical release calendar.
August has been especially hectic for Warner. They kicked off the month by pulling the plug on their "Batgirl" film, among other in-development projects. That news was followed by CEO David Zaslav announcing a fresh 10-year plan for DC films, while the studio also reassured some DC creators their projects are safe. On August 23, Deadline reported that "The Batman" director Matt Reeves had signed on for a multi-year film deal with Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Television, which will include the upcoming "The Penguin" series and sequels to "The Batman." Meanwhile, after some delays of its own, "The Flash" is set for a June 2023 release, despite its star Ezra Miller's slew of personal scandals.
We have now learned that Warner Bros. Discovery is shuffling the cards once again, as the studio has pushed back the release dates for two of its most anticipated DCEU films.
Aquaman 2 is delayed again, Shazam 2 takes its release spot
In yet another shuffle that comes amid a slew of recent shakeups at Warner Bros. Discovery, the long-delayed "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is being delayed once again, while "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" is also being moved back, Deadline reports. "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" had previously been slated for release on March 17, 2023 but has now been shifted to open on December 25, 2023. Meanwhile, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" will take that March 17 opening date, pushed back from its previously scheduled release date of December 21, 2022.
The changes mean that "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" will debut a full five years after 2018's "Aquaman." As a result of the pushbacks for the "Aquaman" and "Shazam!" sequels, only a single DC Extended Universe film will land in theaters this year ("The Batman" is not a DCEU film), in the form of the Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vehicle "Black Adam," which is set to be released October 21.
The "Aquaman" and "Shazam!" sequels are not the only projects that are seeing their planned releases altered. Former HBO Max exclusives "House Party" and "Evil Dead Rise" will now be receiving theatrical releases, with the former set to premiere on December 9, 2022, and the latter on April 21, 2023.