Warner Bros. has shuffled the release dates for several movies, including “Black Adam,” “The Flash,” “Aquaman 2,” “Wonka” and “Shazam 2.”
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and “The Flash” are both being pushed from 2022 to 2023 due to COVID-induced production delays with visual effects. The Jason Momoa-starring sequel is being pushed back from Dec. 16, 2022, to March 17, 2023. Meanwhile, Ezra Miller’s first solo outing as Flash is speeding away from Nov. 4, 2022, to June 23, 2023.
Dwayne Johnson’s “Black Adam” is being pushed back three months to Oct. 21, 2022, and “DC League of Super-Pets” is moving to July 29, 2022, which was “Black Adam’s” original date. “Super-Pets,” in which Johnson voices Superman’s canine best friend, Krypto the Super-Dog, was previously dated for May 20, 2022.
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is the only movie to move up a few months. The Zachary Levi-starring pic is flying up from June 2, 2023, to Dec. 12, 2022, just in time for the Christmas season.
“We’re thrilled to bring ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ to audiences as a Christmas gift this year,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution. “Families of all ages will really enjoy it.”
In non-superhero release moves, Timothee Chalamet’s turn as chocolatier Willy Wonka in the origin story “Wonka” is being pushed back several months from March 17, 2023, to Dec. 15, 2023.
Finally, the shark disaster movie “Meg 2: The Trench,” starring Jason Statham, swims into theaters on Aug. 4, 2023.
Johnson was the first to rock the Warner Bros. release calendar, announcing on Wednesday afternoon that “Black Adam” and “Super-Pets” were being delayed. Warner Bros. then made the rest of the release changes official shortly after.
Warner Bros. is coming off of a hot start to 2022 with DC Comics’ “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell and Jeffrey Wright. Director Matt Reeves’ take on the Caped Crusader brought in $134 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, which is the best debut of 2022 and the second-highest launch of the pandemic era, behind “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”