Wonder Woman: 1984 bumped back to October

Wonder Woman: 1984 has had its release date pushed back once again, this time to October.

The situation surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis is constantly evolving, and that fact has led to plenty of films seeing changes in release dates — some more than once. That’s the case for the DCEU sequel Wonder Woman: 1984, which was originally slated to arrive in theaters in June. Of course, that early summer release date proved impossible once the pandemic hit, as movie theaters shut their doors and many have yet to reopen even now.

Warner Bros. initially pushed the Wonder Woman sequel back to August for that reason, but it seems even that date may be too early for a blockbuster to hit the big screen. As of yesterday, the studio announced the film’s release date would be bumped once again, this time to October 2.

This delay was announced in a Tweet, and the announcement arrived around the same time that Warner Bros. revealed that Tenet, which was supposed to hit theaters July 17, would also be moved to July 31. This means that Disney’s live-action Mulan will be the first major release to play in theaters as things begin to reopen — that is, unless Disney decides to shift some things around as well.

And while it’s disappointing to some fans that they’ll have to wait to see their most-anticipated films of the year, it makes sense that studios are hesitant to release their biggest hits too soon. Even if theaters are open in time to play these movies, there is the question of how many moviegoers will actually head to theaters on opening weekend to see them. It’s possible anything released too soon will flop at the box office based solely on the fact that people won’t be eager to crowd into theaters — and no studio wants to be the first to test that theory.

And with so many films going straight to VOD, it’s fortunate that Wonder Woman: 1984 will have a theatrical release at all — even if it’s a tad later than expected. The sequel will see Gal Gadot reprising her role as Diana, while Kristen Wiig takes on the task of portraying the DC villain Cheetah.

Are you happy that Wonder Woman: 1984 was pushed back to October? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!