'The Batman' delayed as Warner Bros. shuffles release calendar
Without a doubt, 2020 is not a great year for moviegoers. The perpetual delays in movie release dates no longer come as a surprise as productions remain halted, movie theaters are shuttered, and people are under lockdown, to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Now, Warner Bros. has shifted a slew of theatrical release dates, including that for Robert Pattinson's Batman movie. Here's more.
'The Batman' will now arrive in October, 2021
WB has moved the release dates for several movies originally planned for 2020 and the next two years. Matt Reeves's highly-anticipated Batman film has been delayed by four months as a result of the shuffle. The movie, starring Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, was earlier set to hit the theaters on June 25, 2021. It will now arrive on October 1.
'The Sopranos' prequel and 'King Richard' are also delayed
Furthermore, the release date for The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel film to acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos, has now moved from September 25, 2020 to March 12, the next year. Meanwhile, Will Smith-starrer King Richard, a biopic based on tennis coach Richard Williams, has been moved by one year, from the earlier release date of November 25, 2020 to November 19, 2021.
Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic delayed by a month
Separately, an untitled Elvis Presley biopic has been shifted by a month, from October 1, 2021 to November 5, the same year. The movie's shooting in Australia was suspended in early March after its star Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson contracted the novel coronavirus. Hanks is playing Presley's long-time manager Colonel Tom Parker in the Baz Luhrmann directorial.
'Shazam! 2' delayed, while 'The Flash' has been advanced
Further, Shazam! 2, a sequel to DC's hit 2019 superhero movie, has been shifted from April 1, 2022 to November 4, 2022. Oddly, one movie even moved up the calendar: DC superhero film The Flash is now expected to release on June 3, 2022 instead of July 1, 2022. However, there is no word from WB on Christopher Nolan's Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984.
