Fans of Aquaman and Shazam! are now going to wait even longer to see part 2 of their favourite films, as both of the Worlds of DC sequels have had their release dates pushed back again.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now set to premiere on December 25, 2023, having had previously moved from a release date of December 16, 2022, to March 17, 2023.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods has been pushed back from December 21, 2022, to March 17, 2023 - the third time the film had been delayed - filling in the Aquaman 2 slot.
Fans were less than impressed by the news, with hundreds of people turning online to share their thoughts. “Aquaman 2 being slated to release December 2022 and then getting delayed so many times that it gets pushed to December 2023 is actually insane. what the f**k is going on at WB,” Tweeted one confused individual.
“AQUAMAN 2 just said SEA YOU LATER,” joked another.
“Y’all just will nOT GIVE ME SHAZAM 2,” said another fan, with a video of Hades from Disney’s Hercules screaming “What?”
Someone else had the same idea, sharing a screenshot of Rachel Zegler shouting “No!” alongside a caption which said, “Literally my reaction to Shazam 2 delayed news”.
y'all just will nOT GIVE ME SHAZAM 2 https://t.co/ESBtbxJVob pic.twitter.com/Gu4rwIAaav
— nitsi ; ♡ ⚡️shazam 2 era. | ¡𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒂 𝑬𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒚! (@swiftsgeckos) August 24, 2022
Literally my reaction to Shazam 2 delayed news https://t.co/hgVa3OgDSd
— 🇹🇼 Mr. J Movie Review Multiverse (@FILMemesTW) August 25, 2022
Back in April, Shazam! 2’s release date was pushed back by five days so it wasn’t released at the same time as James Cameron’s highly anticipated sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water on December 16.
At the time, Shazam 2 director David F. Sandberg joked, “You’re welcome Cameron!” about the date change.
You’re welcome Cameron! https://t.co/dYzBCrLyZS
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) April 27, 2022
In March 2022 Warner Bros. more comprehensively changed its release schedule to make room for setbacks in production that had been caused by the pandemic and its knock-on delays. DC League of Super-Pets, Black Adam, The Flash, Wonka and The Meg 2: The Trench were all caught up in the reshuffle.
Shazam! 2 is set to see Zachary Levi reprise his role as Shazam, alongside a returning cast which includes Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer and Rachel Zegler. Shazam! told the story of 14-year-old Billy Batson who can transform into a superhero adult by saying, you guessed it, Shazam. In Shazam! 2 Billy is set to take on new baddies Hespera and Kalypso.
In Aquaman’s second instalment, Jason Momoa is set to return as Aquaman, alongside Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko (Aquaman’s mentor) and Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna. Part one told the story of King Orm, the power-hungry ruler of the underwater kingdom Atlantis, who plans to defeat the rest of the ocean kingdoms before taking on cities on land. Luckily Aquaman is there to stop him. In Aquaman 2, Aquaman is back saving the world again.
In May 2021, in an interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, Momoa said that he was one of the early co-writers for the sequel. He said: “I loved [Aquaman] so much that I, you know, participated in the writing of [the sequel]; and so we did the first treatment and then James and our original writer David finished it off and, you know, all of our hearts are in it.”
