Will Shazam! 2 Change Release Dates to Avoid Disney and Mission: Impossible 8 in November 2022?

Days after Warner Bros. reshuffled its superhero slate, pushing Shazam! 2 from April to November [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Days after Warner Bros. reshuffled its superhero slate, pushing Shazam! 2 from April to November 2022, Paramount Pictures moved the Tom Cruise-led Mission: Impossible 8 from August 5 to November 4, 2022, where the prospective blockbuster will go head-to-head with Warner's DC Comics tentpole. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Fallout writer-director Christopher McQuarrie returns for back-to-back sequels 7 and 8, both summer releases now rescheduled for the fall season in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Returning alongside franchise star and producer Cruise are Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, and Henry Czerny, with series newcomers Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger), Pom Klementieff (Avengers: Endgame), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Shea Whigham (Joker) on board in undisclosed roles.

Shazam! 2 again stars Zachary Levi as the titular superhero and the adult alter-ego of teen Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who transforms by shouting a magical phrase. The first Shazam!, which earned $366 million worldwide on a reported budget of $100 million, co-starred a mostly younger cast — Jack Dylan Grazer (IT), Grace Fulton (Annabelle: Creation), Ian Chen (Fresh Off the Boat), Jovan Armand (The Middle) and Faithe Herman (This is Us) — with Mark Strong (Green Lantern) portraying DC Comics supervillain Dr. Sivana.

If the superhero sequel keeps its date, it opens against the proven hit Mission: Impossible franchise and an untitled live-action Disney film scheduled for November 4. While Shazam! skewed more family-friendly than other PG-13 entries in the DC Extended Universe, Shazam! 2 faces steeper direct competition than its predecessor: the David F. Sandberg-directed Shazam! opened opposite Paramount's R-rated Pet Sematary and one week ahead of another comic book adaptation, the R-rated Hellboy reboot, which grossed $12 million in its opening weekend for a third place finish.

The double threat of Mission: Impossible 8 and a Disney live-action feature could be too great for even the "Shazamily," the superhero family expected to play a larger role in Shazam! 2. Powered by Cruise's star power and blockbuster action, 2015's Rogue Nation scored $682 million worldwide and was topped by its 2018 sequel, Fallout, which co-starred Superman star Henry Cavill and punched up $791 million globally.

Warner Bros. earlier bumped up The Flash from July 4, 2022, to June 3 after Disney-owned Marvel Studios announced the Brie Larson starring Captain Marvel 2 will open July 8 that year.

Shazam! 2 is currently scheduled to open November 4, 2022. Other future Warner Bros. and DC releases include Wonder Woman 1984, planned for August 14, 2020, The Suicide Squad, set for August 6, 2021, The Batman, now set for October 1, 2021, and Aquaman 2, planned for December 16, 2022.

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