WB pushes back 'Aquaman' and 'Shazam' sequels, moves two HBO Max titles to theaters

Warner Bros. once again shuffles the DC release schedule.

After the "Aquaman" sequel was pushed back from December 16, 2022 to March 17, 2023, DC's installment is once again delayed to December 25, 2023. That's the same release window as its original release date of December 2022, after the debut of the first film in 2018.

Now in the DC shuffle, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" will pick up the vacant premiere date of "Aquaman 2," this time rescheduled for March 17, 2023, having first been announced on December 16 of this year (the date of the original "Aquaman" sequel).

In addition to the DC game of musical chairs, two HBO Max titles are now hitting theaters: "House Party" is slated for December 9, 2022, while "Evil Dead Rise" will open on April 21, 2023. Warner Bros. also now include "The Nun 2," as part of "The Conjuring" franchise, slated for September 8, 2023, as well as Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" being pushed back to a date to be determined in 2023 (its original release was set for April 21, 2023).

A "Warner Bros." the film of the event is also scheduled for February 10, 2023, Super Bowl weekend.

With 'Batgirl' confirmed to be shelved indefinitely after originally slated for an HBO Max release and the DCU's future hinged on 'The Flash' despite the lead star's multiple arrests and abuse allegations Ezra Miller, it seems the release schedule reflects the imbalance and pushes for a Kevin Feige-like leader to oversee all of DC.

The CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav clarified earlier during the company's second quarter 2022 earnings call that the removal of 'Batgirl' was part of a plan to 'bring Warner back and produce great, high quality movies' with a mission to “protect the DC brand.”

"We have some great DC movies coming up: 'Black Adam', 'Shazam!' and 'Flash.' We're working on all of those movies. We've seen them, and we think they're great, and we can make them even better," said Zaslav.

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