The Batman, The Matrix 4, The Flash, Dune, Shazam! 2 Release Dates Shuffled by Warner Bros.

COVID-19 continues to impact the release calendar in 2021, 2022, and even 2023.

By Akhil Arora | Updated: 6 October 2020 11:04 IST

The Batman, The Matrix 4, The Flash, Dune, Shazam! 2 Release Dates Shuffled by Warner Bros.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Reloaded

Highlights

Dune in October 2021, The Matrix 4 in December 2021
The Batman now in March 2022, The Flash in Nov. 2022
Shazam! 2 in June 2023, Black Adam without release date

Warner Bros. has shuffled its movie calendar again, unveiling new release dates for Dune, The Batman, The Matrix 4, The Flash, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Lastly, Black Adam has lost its release date. Denis Villeneuve's star-studded Dune has jumped from December 2020 to October 1, 2021. Owing to that, Robert Pattinson-led The Batman has been pushed from October 1, 2021 to March 4, 2022. In turn, The Matrix 4 has been brought forward from April 1, 2022 to December 22, 2021. Dwayne Johnson-led Black Adam, set for December 2021, is now without a release year. The Flash runs from June 3, 2022 to November 4, 2022. And because of that, Shazam! 2 goes from November 4, 2022 to June 2, 2023.

Dune was the first domino that fell, and that was expected since Wonder Woman 1984 had recently moved from early October to Christmas. This is the first delay for the sci-fi adaptation. With Warner Bros. giving Dune the date booked for The Batman, it had no choice but to push the DC movie further on — for a second time. The Batman was originally set for June 2021. It gives The Batman director Matt Reeves five more months to polish his Caped Crusader reboot, which has seen production delays due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — The Batman is filming outside London in the UK — and Pattinson reportedly testing positive for COVID-19.

That hasn't been as much of a problem for the as-yet untitled The Matrix 4 that has been filming in Germany, which has handled the pandemic much better. That's why it's the only Warner Bros. film that has been brought forward by a little over three months. It was originally set for May 2021, then pushed to April 2022 due to COVID-19, and will now open Christmas 2021. The Matrix 4 reunites director Lana Wachowski with returning stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson, who are joined by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Daniel Bernhardt, and Priyanka Chopra among others.

The Matrix 4 takes over the Christmas 2021 release date that was reserved for the Johnson-led Black Adam. It's unclear why Warner Bros. has moved the DC film off its calendar entirely, considering the film has been filling its main cast and preparing for a production start in early 2021. What this means for now is that James Gunn's soft reboot of The Suicide Squad — slated for August 6, 2021 — is now the only DC film universe property for 2021. Meanwhile, The Flash has been delayed once again, this time by five months that in turn has pushed Shazam! 2 to mid-2023. Aquaman 2 is set for December 2022 but WB might not keep that since The Flash is a month before.

Dune will now open October 1, 2021, followed by The Matrix 4 on December 22, 2021, The Batman on March 4, 2022, The Flash on November 4, 2022, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods on June 2, 2023.

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Further reading: Warner Bros, Dune, The Batman, The Matrix 4, The Flash, Shazam 2, Shazam Fury of the Gods, DC Comics, Legendary Pictures, DCEU, Coronavirus, COVID 19, Pandemic