Warner Bros. Discovery and David Zaslav have moved back the release dates for both Aquaman 2 and Shazam! 2.
Aquaman 2 has been pushed back from its March 17, 2023 release date all the way to December 25, 2023, said to be because the flick needs more time in post-production.
A recent rumor offers Zaslav isn’t happy with what he is seeing from the flick, so maybe the rumor has merit, though the movie might not be a bad one as the first Aquaman made a billion with its December release back in 2018.
Shazam! 2 moves from its December 21, 2022 release date to Aquaman‘s old release date, so Shazam! 2 now gets released on March 17, 2023. Deadline adds that the shift in release date is a good thing because now Shazam! 2 will have the benefit of an IMAX release while it didn’t with its December 2022 release because of going up against Disney’s Avatar 2.
Related: Director James Wann comments and shares concept art.
What about The Flash?
Nothing is mentioned about The Flash movie, so it appears as if the film is still on track for a June 23, 2023 release date.
What’s odd is that following the previous shift in DC release dates, The Flash was going to be the last DC movie released, which explained why Michael Keaton was dropped from Aquaman 2 and Batgirl (sort a).
Obviously, The Flash needs to get released first if Michael Keaton was ever going to appear as Batman in other films, and now it is, but Keaton is still out as Batman in Aquaman 2 and obviously the canceled Batgirl movie.
I think there is more going on and it may have something to do with Zaslav not wanting Keaton to continue as Batman.
It also seems worth a mention is that they could have released Batgirl with all these changes, and the directors recently confirmed the movie isn’t done, but we see it’s canceled anyway. I think Zaslav simply doesn’t like what he sees with Batgirl and they have grander plans in store.
WB additional release dates
Deadline also reports two movies originally slated to be released on HBO Max actually haven’t been canceled but are now getting theatrical releases.
The LeBron James-produced reboot of House Party will open on December 9 of this year, and the Evil Dead Rise flick will get released in theaters on April 21, 2023. According to the report, the Evil Dead Rise trailer was so well received when it was released at CineEurope, that it helped lead to the theatrical release.
Additional release dates include The Nun 2 on September 8, 2023; Salem’s Lot moves off its April 21, 2023 release date to a TBD date next year, and WB has an untitled release date set for Super Bowl weekend on February 10, 2023.
DC’s Dwayne Johnson Black Adam is also still on track this year for an October 21 release.
