Warner Bros. sequel to 2017’s successful Wonder Woman has been given another new release date. Due to the uncertainty of fans returning to theaters with the coronavirus pandemic still growing, the film has been pushed back 2 months for an October 2, 2020 debut.
Wonder Woman 1984 is coming to your favorite theater this fall. See it October 2, 2020. ✨ #WW84 pic.twitter.com/OvW9AAa7gT
— Wonder Woman 1984 (@WonderWomanFilm) June 12, 2020
Originally scheduled to be in theaters for December 13, 2019, it was originally moved up 6 weeks to November 1, 2019. Had the shuffling stopped there, fans of comic book films would have had one last hurrah before COVID-19 closed theaters and rearranged film slates; however, Warner Bros., in an effort to open the film as a traditional post-Memorial Day tentpole, moved it to June 5, 2020. With theaters being shut down at that time, WB bumped it to August 14, 2020, hoping that the COVID-19 pandemic would quickly resolve itself. This latest shift (which may not be the final adjustment since a now deleted tweet initially indicated that the film would be in theaters for Thanksgiving) seems to indicate that the studio is growing increasingly concerned about audiences being ready to head to theaters this summer.
The move came in a flurry of activity by the studio as it moved or removed several films on its current slate. Tenet, Witches, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs Kong and The Matrix 4 were all a part of the game of musical chairs that seems to have become a Friday night staple during the pandemic. As it stands now, the studio is re-releasing Christopher Nolan’s Inception on July 17th, Tenet’s original date, with an attached preview reel of their upcoming slate. That preview reel could well feature first looks at The Batman or Suicide Squad in addition to any of the films mentioned above.
