The Batman, Shazam 2, The Flash delayed. The Matrix 4 moved up!

the batman, Shazam 2, the flash

In the wake of DUNE leaving its Christmas 2020 release date in favor of October 2021 comes more release date shuffles from WB, and the news (via Deadline) isn't good. With DUNE now occupying it's original October 1st, 2021 date, THE BATMAN is now moving to March 4th, 2022, while SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS is heading to June 2nd, 2023. Ouch!

Meanwhile, BLACK ADAM is temporarily dateless, as the new big holiday 2021 release is going to be, in an unexpected twist, THE MATRIX 4, which has been moved up to December 22nd, 2021. And that's not all folks. Andy Muschietti's highly anticipated THE FLASH, which is supposed to officially kick-off the DC multiverse, is also being shuffled, moving back eight months to June 3rd, 2022.

So why all the release date moves? Here's the thing – studios have to stake out release dates years in advance. COVID-19 threw everything out of whack, especially now with it seeming like virtually the entire slate of 2020 tentpoles are being delayed to 2021. In a way, it's as is 2020 never happened as far as movies go, but the problem is all of the release date swaps have created a serious log jam of titles, so most big 2021 movies will now open in 2022. C'est la vie, but hey, at least the movies are still being made, right?

See you all at the movies in 2021. It's gonna be EPIC.

Source: Deadline

About the Author

Chris Bumbray began his career with JoBlo as the resident film critic (and James Bond expert) way back in 2007, and he has stuck around ever since, being named editor-in-chief in 2021. A voting member of the CCA and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, you can also catch Chris discussing pop culture regularly on CTV News Channel.