Warner Bros. Discovery's financial troubles are reportedly to blame for Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom being pushed back on the release calendar.
Following the announcement that Warner Bros. has delayed the upcoming DC films, Borys Kit, a writer for The Hollywood Reporter, explained on his Twitter account that the "moves underscore what a financial mess Warner Bros. Discovery is as the studio has only enough cash to release 2 movies from now to the end of this year (Don't Worry Darling and Black Adam)." He later clarified that the company was also releasing a third movie, the low-budget comedy House Party in December, but that WBD was under severe financial strain. Kit added that one exasperated producer had reached out to him, saying that WBD has "no money and no clues."
There were previously rumors that Warner Bros. was considering delaying the Aquaman and Shazam! sequels, but most suspected that the moves were part of WB's new strategy for its DC Extended Universe and not because of financial difficulties. Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg even wrote in a tweet following his film's delay that the move was most likely to free up IMAX screens for the Shazam! sequel. "While I'm an impatient bastard who wants people to see it as soon as possible (the film will be fully done in just a few weeks), the move makes sense since Avatar was taking all IMAX/PLF screens," Sandberg tweeted. "Fury of the Gods is a big movie [and] should be seen big!" Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson as the titular antihero, will now be the only live-action DC superhero to release in 2022.
Warner Bros. Discovery Is in a Rough Transition Period
Since Warner Bros. and Discovery merged in April, the company has been making some pretty drastic and noticeable changes that started with shelving the Batgirl movie. WBD has also been purging content from its streaming service HBO Max as part of a cost-cutting effort, although the company has stated that the removal of content is part of a future plan to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming service. The HBO Max purge has caused WBD's stock price to drastically fall, leading to the lowest it has been since 2009.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now scheduled to open in theaters on March 17, 2023, with the upcoming DC sequel primarily focusing on the Shazam! Family fighting the daughters of Atlas. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will then follow on Dec. 25, 2023, with a story that will see the titular superhero reluctantly partnering with his half-brother Orm to take on a stronger Black Manta and his army.