Warner Bros. has given out seven new release dates. ‘DC Super Pets,’ Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman,’ James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad,’ Mike Flanagan’s ‘Doctor Sleep,’ and Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Witches’ have all gotten dates. ‘Doctor Sleep’ in particular is the only one with a date change.
‘DC Super Pets’ – May 21, 2021
‘DC Super Pets’ is from directors Jared Stern and Sam Levine, with a script by Jared Stern and John Whittington. Stern and Whittington worked together on the ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ and ‘The Lego Ninjago Movie.’ The premise revolves around a crime-fighting team made up of Superman’s dog Krypto, Batman’s dog Ace The Bat-Hound, and Supergirl’s pet cat, Streaky. ‘Super Pets’ is still the only film on the schedule for Memorial Day weekend.
‘The Batman’ – June 25, 2021
‘The Batman’ is from ‘Planet of the Apes’ director Matt Reeves. He directed the ‘Dawn’ and ‘War’ installments of the franchise, and co-wrote ‘War.’ For this project, he will be the sole writer and director. This film will feature a younger Batman, as this is a prequel film set 20 years ago in the DCEU. Due to this, Ben Affleck will not be reprising the role in this film. He previously portrayed the character in ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ ‘Suicide Squad,’ and ‘Justice League.’ He even put a tweet confirming his absence from the film:
Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life. https://t.co/GNgyJroMIO
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) January 31, 2019
‘The Suicide Squad’ – August 6, 2021
‘The Suicide Squad’ (the current title anyway) will be written and officially directed by James Gunn. The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ director will not make a direct sequel to 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad,’ but rather a “relaunch.” The word is that Gunn’s focus is to take the franchise in a new direction with a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors. Further, the project is very much rooted in Gunn’s vibe, as seen in the ‘Guardians’ movies.
Disney fired Gunn from directing ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ last July. This was when old tweets from 2008 and 2009 resurfaced, where he made insensitive and controversial jokes. However, Warner Bros. was quick to pick him up, and last October he was set to write the “sequel.” Now, as expected, he will be directing as well, with a date in sight. It’s the only release for that weekend.
‘The Witches’ – October 16, 2020
Meanwhile, Robert Zemeckis’ remake of Roald Dahl’s novel ‘The Witches’ now has a date. The film stars Anne Hathaway, and is eyeing Viola Davis for a role. Producing with Zemeckis are Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro. Paramount’s 1980’s toy-based ‘Micronauts’ and Universal’s unknown Blumhouse movie are also on this date.
‘Doctor Sleep’ – November 8, 2019
‘The Shining’ sequel ‘Doctor Sleep’ jumps from January 24, 2020 to this year, on November 8. This shows a lot of confidence to the Stephen King adaptation written and directed by Mike Flanagan. His recent outing was the Netflix series ‘The Haunting of Hill House.’ Paramount’s ‘Sonic the Hedgehog,’ Lionsgate’s ‘Midway,’ and Universal’s untitled Will Packer comedy are also releasing on this weekend.
Untitled WB Events Films
An untitled WB event film will open on July 16, 2021. However, all we know is that this will be a big title, big stars and four-quad play. It’s the only title currently on the date. Another untitled WB event film will also be released October 1, 2021.
Source: Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter (2)