'Wonder Woman 1984' May Be Pushed Back Again, Potentially Bumping 'Dune' To 2021

Brace yourself, Wonder Woman 1984 may be delayed again. Warner Bros. is reportedly considering pushing back the Wonder Woman 1984 release date from its current October date to either November or even late December, which would bump Denis Villeneuve's highly anticipated Dune adaptation to 2021. These rumblings come in the wake of Tenet hitting the U.S. prior to the New York and Los Angeles markets opening their theaters.

Deadline reports that Warner Bros. will likely move Wonder Woman 1984 from its current release date on October 2 to either sometime in November or late December, bumping Legendary's Dune out of its December 18 slot to a likely 2021 release date (which would be a huge shame right after we just got that awesome trailer).

The reason for this reshuffling? Tenet, which opened in the U.S. this past weekend after an earlier overseas launch. While the film did okay, considering the unprecedented times we're in, Warner Bros. wants more — specifically, they want the New York and Los Angeles markets, which won't open their movie theaters until early October and late September. Warner's thinking is that if Wonder Woman 1984 opens in October to newly reopened New York and Los Angeles markets, it will take away the grosses for Tenet needed to make its domestic box office targets.

This would be the latest in a string of delay for Wonder Woman 1984, which was originally announced for release on December 13, 2019 before being moved up to November 1, 2019, then delayed again to June 5, 2020. But that last release date but it smack dab in the middle of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, causing Warner Bros. to push it back to October 2.

There is no word yet on what movie Warner Bros. would slot into that vacated October slot, or if they would give it to any film. There's the possibility that Wonder Woman 1984 will only get pushed back a month to November (which would make its political themes even more timely) and would likely pit it against Marvel's Black Widow, which is currently scheduled for a November 6 release, though Deadline suggests that Disney may delay the Marvel film. It doesn't bode well for the holiday movie season, with November containing one other big delayed blockbuster, MGM's No Time to Die (November 20). If Wonder Woman 1984 movies, it's likely we'll see other studios following suit. And that would bid goodbye to the rest of the major blockbuster season.