Just after releasing the trailer for DC League of Super-Pets, Warner Bros. has announced that that film has been delayed… along with almost all of its other upcoming DC Comics movies as well as Wonka. These changes are due in part to issues stemming from COVID-19. However, one picture is actually moving forward and another that had yet to be given a release date now has one.
The animated family pic DC League of Super-Pets shifts from May 20 to July 29, which had previously been the date for the Jaume Collett-Serra-directed Black Adam. That live-action feature flies to October 21.
Dwayne Johnson stars in both, as the voice of Krypto the Superdog in Super-Pets and as the titular anti-hero in Black Adam. Johnson first broke the news that these two films were changing dates, prior to Warner Bros. announcing the rescheduling of the others, via Instagram.
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The Flash, directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, and Ben Affleck may… or may not completely reboot the DCEU. We won’t find out until next year, as this picture is sprinting from November 4 of this year to June 23, 2023.
The first Aquaman became one of the top-grossing superhero movies ever, skewering over $1 billion when it washed up around Christmas in 2018. Plans were for its sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, to follow suit as a Christmas release, but instead, it will kick off the spring as it surfs from December 16, 2022, to March 17, 2023.
As mentioned, the Paul King musical, Wonka, somersaults from March 17, 2023, to December 15, 2023. Lavish musicals are something of a Christmas staple, so this tale of pure imagination should do well in that spot. Timothée Chalamet stars in the title role.
Guilty pleasure megahit The Meg‘s sequel, The Meg 2: The Trench now has a release date — August 4, 2023. Director Ben Wheatley and star Jason Statham will both return.
But DC fans have one thing to look forward to.  Shazam! Fury of the Gods is actually swooping forward on the calendar.
Director David F. Sandberg returns for this sequel along with nearly the entire original cast, with Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu stepping aboard in villain roles. West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler will also appear in an undisclosed role. This picture is taking over the Aquaman Christmas spot of December 16 of this year. It was originally slated for June 2, 2023. Ironically, the first Shazam! opened in April 2019 but was set at Christmas time. Maybe this is a fitting move? (Unless Fury of the Gods is set in the summer…)
This also puts Black Adam and Shazam! 2 less than two months apart. Is there a reason for that? The two lead characters are closely connected in the comics. Could it be that their movies connect as well? Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see later this year!
Once again, these changes seem to be mostly based on delays due to COVID, which is starting to impact all kinds of industries in unpredicted ways as transportation, manufacturing, shipping, and others… hell, even farming are operating at a fraction of their normal capacity. It only stands to reason that entertainment would also face such challenges.
Moving Shazam! forward may also be due to the fact that the film is closer to being finished than the rest, but that’s just a guess.
What do you think? Are you bummed that these movies are shifting back? Are you excited that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is moving forward?
