It looks like fans will be waiting for the sequels to DC’s live-action Aquaman and Shazam movies a little longer than expected. Deadline reports that the upcoming sequels, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, have received significant delays in their theatrical release dates.
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY HANDS RELEASE DELAYS FOR AQUAMAN 2 AND SHAZAM 2
Warner Bros. Pictures has made a number of changes to its upcoming release slate. Shazam!: Fury of the Gods was previously slated for a Dec. 21, 2022 release. The film now moves to Aquaman 2’s old release date of Mar. 17, 2023. Meanwhile, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom shifts from Mar. 17 next year to Dec. 25, 2023.
Aquaman 2’s delay was reportedly due to the film needing more time in post-production. Previously, director James Wan announced that the film initially wrapped its principal photography earlier in January. The first movie was released in December 2018, grossing $335 million at the domestic box office and over $1.1 billion worldwide.
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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will see Jason Momoa reprise his role of Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman. James Wan is back in the director’s chair, with a script by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. Aquaman 2 will also star Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Temeura Morrison, and Amber Heard.
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods’ new spring release date puts it at a similar time period to the original film’s 2019 release. The first film grossed $140 million domestically and $366 million worldwide. Deadline’s report noted that the new release for Shazam 2 puts the film further away from James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water on Dec. 16. Also, the March 2023 release will give Shazam 2 access to IMAX theaters, which will mostly be taken up by Avatar in December. Warner Bros. also had success with a March release date earlier this year for The Batman.
Due to the release date shuffling, the only other DC Universe film that will be released before the end of the year is Black Adam, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which arrives on Oct. 21. The changes are certainly interesting in light of some of the recent decisions by Warner Bros. Discovery, including permanently shelving the release of the planned HBO Max film Batgirl.
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Shazam!: Fury of the Gods continues the tory of Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his superhero alter ego, Shazam (Zachary Levi). The film also stars returning cast members Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Adam Brody as the superhero version of Freddy, Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard Shazam, Ross Butler as Superhero Eugene, Meagan Good as Superhero Darla, D.J. Cotrona as Superhero Pedro, Grace Caroline Currey as Mary Bromfield and her superhero version, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, and Jovan Armand as Rosa Vasquez. Joining the cast for the sequel are Hellen Mirren, Rachel Zegler, and Lucy Liu.
The sequel is directed by David F. Sandberg, who directed the first film, from a script by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan. The film is based on the DC Comics and characters created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck.
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods opens on Mar. 17, 2023. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom now opens on Dec. 25, 2023. What do you think of the news? Are the release date changes a bad sign for Warner Bros. Discovery, Aquaman 2, and Shazam 2? Or do you think these were positive moves to maximize the theatrical releases for the sequels? Are you more excited for Aquaman 2 or Shazam 2? Let us know what you think about the situation over on our Twitter account.
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SOURCE: Deadline
