In another important release-calendar restructure, Warner Bros. has delayed David F. Sandberg's Shazam! sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, until June 2023. Sandberg's first Shazam! film, which centered on the DC Comics character of the same name, premiered in April 2019. The movie featured Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenager who can transform into the powerful superhero Shazam played by Zachary Levi. Sandberg's first Shazam! movie followed Angel's Billy as he teams up with his superpowered foster family  (played by Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, and Ross Butler among others) to defeat the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) and the Seven Deadly Sins. Following the success of the film, a Shazam sequel was subsequently announced in April 2019.

Having earned an astounding $366 million against a production budget of $80-100 million, with overwhelming praise from critics for its enthralling blend of humor, action, and heart, it was only logical for Shazam! to receive a sequel at Warner Bros. and New Line Cinemas. The studios had initially scheduled the follow-up film to release in April 2020. But due to the Covid-19-induced production shutdown, the film was delayed to November 4, 2022. In a recent conversation, the film's star Zachary Levi had opened up about the movie's reprogramming, admitting that the new premiere date was commercially favorable for the film and that, production on the movie was expected to commence in the first quarter of 2021. But now, there has been another update pertaining to the release date of the Shazam! sequel, as Warner Bros. has reorganized the debuts of several of its tentpoles.

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Warner Bros. announced on Monday that they have delayed Shazam! Fury of the Gods until June 2, 2023. The move follows the studio's rescheduling of several other big-ticket movies, which include the comic-book adventure The Batman (delayed to March 4, 2022) and Lana Wachowski's Matrix 4 (moved up to April 1, 2022). Warner Bros. has also postponed the launch of the Ezra Miller vehicle The Flash. The movie, which was earlier poised to open on June 3, 2022, has now moved to Shazam 2's previous calendar spot of November 4, 2022.

Shazam! 2's revised premiere date has also been confirmed by Sandberg, who has posted a series of hilarious jokes about the film's postponement to his official social media handles. In one tweet, Sandberg jokingly asks Warner Bros. if he can still change the title to his movie, referring to how his movie is now 'too far away' to compete with any other major film, while other Warner Bros. films have all been pitted against major players following the rearrangement. Sandberg has also taken a self-deprecating dig at the major delay for Shazam! 2 on Instagram. He has posted a photoshopped scene from the original Shazam movie, satirizing how old the cast will be by the time the new movie comes out.

A 4-year delay between the original Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods can really go either way. If the film commences production early next year- as planned- the final product will feel the same, no matter when it comes out. Otherwise, if the film delays production on grounds of its new release date, the younger cast will be too grown-up for its original roles. Shazam!'s hiatus may also cause fans to lose connection with the film. The makers will, therefore, have to chart out a new marketing strategy to keep viewers hooked. A good idea perhaps will be to launch a Shazam! TV show. Aside from familiarizing new and old fans with the unconventional superhero and his whimsical antics, the show will also be an important step in the development of a major Shazam! franchise.

Next: Everything We Know About Shazam 2

Source: Warner Bros./David F. Sandberg via Twitter/David F. Sandberg via Instagram