‘Aquaman 2’ and ‘Shazam 2’ Both Delayed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. has announced that there are some major switch-ups in its release schedule. Some of it is a result of the new policy at HBO Max to only invest in originals that will be getting a theatrical release window. Other films might just be dealing with a few issues in post. There are even some films that are just getting switched up to capitalize on months that will be lacking in big releases.
James Wan’s Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is one of the bigger entries that's getting pushed back, and that's due to some of the issues the film has been met with during post-production, according to Deadline. Rather than coming out in March of 2023, it’s getting pushed back to December 2023. Of course, it’s likely that it'll be as CGI heavy as any other superhero movie, which might have something to do with the delay.
As a result of the empty theaters where Aquaman should have been, Warner Bros. decided to scoot Shazam! Fury of The Gods from its release date in December of 2022 back to March. Given the fact that expectations for Black Adam are running so high, mixed with the success of Shazam itself, projections are pretty high for the upcoming sequel.
Another phenomenon going on in the world of Warner Bros. is the whole theatrical window policy David Zaslav is trying to institute for HBO Max. Warners was developing new films in the House Party and Evil Dead franchises that were supposed to debut on streaming. Now they will instead premiere in theaters first.
That leaves Black Adam, opening on October 21, as the last remaining DC Comics movie that’s still opening this calendar year. Shazam! is now scheduled to follow next March.