In another major reshuffle at Warner Bros, the upcoming sequels to ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Shazam!’ will now have later release dates than previously planned.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the James Wan-directed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ has been pushed back more than eight months, from March 17, 2023, to December 25, 2023, the studio announced on Wednesday.
‘Aquaman and the Lost City’ will see the return of Jason Momoa as the titular superhero, as well as Patrick Wilson’s Orm Marius and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta.
It was recently revealed that Ben Affleck’s Batman will return for ‘Aquaman 2’. The first ‘Aquaman’ was a major earner for Warner Bros./DC, grossing more than USD 1 billion at the global box office.
Apart from that, ‘Shazam! sequel Fury of the Gods, which was meant to come out in December of this year, has landed ‘Aquaman 2’s’ old date, March 17, 2023, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Shazam!’, released in 2019, was a modest hit by superhero standards with USD 365.9 million, but was well-liked and praised for bringing a youthful energy to the genre. It told the story of a foster kid named Billy Batson who transformed into the hero Shazam.
The release date changes come amid tumult for other DC properties, most notably ‘Batgirl’. The once HBO Max-bound movie was shelved and will not be released on any platform, despite being completely finished and having a USD 90 million price tag.
A slew of other changes and additions were announced by Warner Bros for their upcoming theatrical release calendar, including taking ‘Salem’s Lot’ off its April 21, 2023, date. No new date has been announced.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, other changes include dating New Line’s ‘House Party’ redux for December 9, 2022, ‘Evil Dead Rise’ for April 21, 2023, and ‘The Nun 2’ for September 8, 2023.
