Warner Bros. will have to wait a little longer to see if the success of The Batman rubs off on more DC Comics movies. The studio shuffled around several release dates on Wednesday, mostly involving DC Comics movies. The next live-action DC Comics movie, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s Black Adam, will not open until October now.
The release date shuffle also involved Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and the animated DC League of Super-Pets. Timothee Chalamet’s Wonka was also delayed, while Jason Statham’s Meg 2: The Trench earned its first release date. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the shifts were caused by visual effects delays related to COVID. There could be more shifts in the future though unless Warner Bros. really wants Shazam! 2 to go up against Avatar 2. Scroll on for a look at the new release dates.
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‘DC League of Super-Pets’ – July 29, 2022
The Warner Bros. shuffling became official after Johnson announced the new dates for Super-Pets and Black Adam. Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions is involved in both movies. Super-Pets was set to open on May 20 originally. The movie features Johnson voicing Superman’s dog Krypto, who joins other DC pets to save the world. Keanu Reeves, Kevin Hart, John Krasinski, and Kate McKinnon are also in the voice cast.
‘Black Adam’ – Oct. 21, 2022
Johnson has been working on a Black Adam movie for years, and it’s finally coming. Black Adam is traditionally the villain of Shazam/Captain Marvel, but the movie will feature other heroes from the Justice Society of America, including Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), and Hawkman (Aldis Hodge). The film was previously set to be a summer blockbuster, but will now play during the fall.
‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ – Dec. 16, 2022
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the sequel to the surprise 2019 hit Shazam! starring Zachary Levi in the title role. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu joined the cast for the sequel, which actually is coming out sooner than expected with this new date. The movie will probably get a different date in the future, though, since it seems unlikely that Warner Bros. would want to open it on the same day James Cameron’s Avatar 2 finally opens.
‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ – March 17, 2023
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was supposed to hit theaters on Dec. 16, but will now see a spring release in March 2023. This movie is a sequel to the 2018 hit Aquaman and sees James Wan back as director. Jason Momoa is also back in the title role and has a co-story credit.
‘The Flash’ – June 23, 2023
Does The Flash movie really exist? It must at this point because Warner Bros. has given it a June 23, 2023 release date. The movie has faced more issues than any other DC Extended Universe movie, but once Andy Muschietti was hired as director, things finally got moving. Ezra Miller stars as The Flash, who is expected to visit multiple DC timelines in the movie. Michael Keaton even came back to play Bruce Wayne for the first time since 1992.
‘Meg 2: The Trench’ – Aug. 4, 2023
Outside the DC Comics realm, Meg 2: The Trench is the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 monster movie The Meg, which did surprisingly well around the world. The sequel will see Jason Statham back as Jonas Taylor. Ben Wheatley (Free Fire) was hired to direct.
‘Wonka’ – Dec. 15, 2023
Wonka, another non-DC flick, was set to open in March 2023, but Warner Bros. is now making it a holiday season movie. The film stars Timothee Chalamet as Willy Wonka before he established his chocolate factory. The movie will include new songs.
