The arrival of a new year is also the beginning of much anticipation for film fans. After all, it means that long-awaited movies are finally coming out and it’s only a matter of time before that happens. And, in some specific cases, this is even more emblematic, as it marks the end of a wait that seemed to have no end.
And as postponements have become a constant in the industry – even more so in a post-pandemic period –, seeing features that have gone through several date changes finally hitting the screens is cause for celebration. So, in 2023, there will be no shortage of reasons for fans to celebrate.
Thinking about it, the canaltech listed 13 delayed films that will finally be released in 2023.
13. Creed 3
We kick off our list with Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut. The new chapter of the franchise Rocky hits theaters next March 2, which means we’re going to see Adonis Creed step into the ring very soon. But, in fact, this fight was supposed to have happened some time ago.
According to the official Warner Bros schedule, the first feature in the series without Sylvester Stallone should have premiered in November 2022, but ended up being pushed a few months forward. The reason for the change was not revealed.
One of the reasons speculated would be the need for more time to make adjustments in post-production. As disclosed, creed 3 there will be scenes shot entirely in Imax to create a much more immersive environment for the audience at the time of the fights — and that is something that requires a lot of work. That’s why we hope the delay is worth it.
12. Shazam! Gods Fury
With all the internal overhaul within Warner in relation to DC, all of the publisher’s superhero films have gone through numerous postponements – and Shazam! Gods Fury was one of those that suffered most from the constant changes.
The feature has been ready for a long time and even had its early release to hit theaters before Christmas 2022. However, after the trailers were released and with a few weeks left for the release, Warner changed everything again and played the feature of the boy who becomes a hero for March 16, 2023.
11. John Wick 4: Baba Yaga
Keanu Reeves’ agenda must be really crazy, since the initial promise was that John Wick 4: Baba Yaga hit theaters the same day as Matrix Resurrectionsin December 2021. But the filming of the feature was delayed a lot because of the covid-19 pandemic and the killer’s return will only happen on March 23.
10. Super Mario Bros.
One of the most anticipated animations of 2023 (mainly by gamers), Super Mario Bros. is Nintendo’s theatrical debut. But the company’s entry almost happened in 2022, as the feature of its mustachioed hero was scheduled to be released in the last month of December.
Like several other films on this list, Mario’s film had some problems because of the pandemic, albeit indirectly. This is because the covid-19 affected the production of other Universal Pictures films, which had to rearrange its schedule and forced the mustachioed plumber to appear only on March 30, 2023.
9. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Rebels
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves it is another one of the films that has undergone several changes in the schedule because of the covid-19 pandemic. Paramount’s original idea was that the feature that adapts the RPG universe would hit theaters in July 2021, but the health situation around the world has caused the studio to play the date forward a few times.
Taken by the optimism that we all had at the beginning of the pandemic, the studio thought that everything would be back to normal by November of that year, which did not even come close to happening. Thus, things started to delay – including in the recordings – to the point that this group of adventurers only started their campaign on the next April 13, 2023.
8. Fast and Furious 10
Despite the name, Fast and Furious 10 it’s taking longer than expected to finally get up to speed on screens. And, as you might have guessed, the delay is related to covid-19.
The tenth film in the franchise is another indirect victim of the pandemic, as the period of social isolation delayed the release of Fast and Furious 9. With that, the schedule had to be adjusted for its sequel, which is now scheduled for May 18th.
7. Spider-Man Through the Spider-Verse
Another film that went through several dates and even had its concept transformed over time. Originally, Sony had announced that Spider-Man Through the Spider-Verse would hit theaters in April 2022 and would be split into two parts.
But that didn’t happen and what we saw was a transformation in the concept. When it was postponed to October 2022, the studio said that it would be a unique film and that a third chapter would follow shortly thereafter. But none of that has happened yet, Spider-Man Through the Spider-Verse will arrive now only on June 1, 2023.
6. Transformers: Dawn of the Beasts
Let’s face it, no one was really missing the franchise. Transformers and, for that very reason, you may not even have realized that The Awakening of the Beasts It was postponed. Well, that happened and the seventh feature in the series will hit theaters this year.
The initial promise was that robots that became robot animals would debut in June 2022. Obviously, that did not happen and now we are going to see all this machinery giving faces and gears on June 8, 2023.
On the bright side, this could be a nice restart for the franchise. With bumblebeethe series showed that the departure of Michael Bay can make things interesting and the fact that the film brings characters from the classic animation Beast Wars can catch a staff for nostalgia.
5. The Flash
Words fail to describe all the postponements of The Flash. There were so many back and forth that it comes as a surprise that this film was not cancelled. From scripts being entirely reshot to the actor being arrested and mired in several controversies, seeing the Scarlet Speedster on screen is going to be a huge miracle.
The feature was announced in 2014, in the wake of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and was supposed to be a key part of the DC Extended Cinematic Universe (DCEU). Then, with the departure of Zack Snyder and the subsequent failure of Justice League, The Flash would be responsible for restarting the chronology and marking a new beginning for the heroes.
But the film took so long to come out that it was Warner who was rebooted, who went through a huge administrative overhaul and put James Gunn in charge of DC. With that, none of the previous films will be worth and The Flash it will no longer carry any weight. But at least it will come out.
If nothing else goes wrong, it opens on June 22nd.
4. Indiana Jones and the Call of Fate
How to make a film in the midst of a pandemic when its protagonist is an elderly person who is part of the risk group? That was exactly the problem Lucasfilm had to face with Indiana Jones and the Call of Fatethe fifth chapter in the series starring Harrison Ford.
But covid-19 was just one of the reasons that delayed the feature, which was scheduled for July last year. During filming, the actor was also injured and had to be admitted to the hospital because of a shoulder injury, which forced Disney to push the premiere to June 29, 2023.
3. Mission Impossible: Reckoning – Part 1
Tom Cruise has already assured that the next film in the series Mission Impossible it’s going to be the biggest one yet and we’ve even seen the actor jump out of planes to prove his point. Only, despite all the megalomania and almost suicidal tendencies of the star, none of this prevented the delays forced by the pandemic.
In fact, most of Cruise’s films suffered from this affliction. Just see how much Top Gun: Maverick it also took time, creating this ripple effect that forced Paramount to rearrange its schedule. Thereby, Reckoning – Part 1 it was postponed by two years and arrives on July 13th. And we hope it makes the wait worth it.
2. The Marvels
Who also needed to adjust their release schedule was Marvel. Originally slated to hit screens in July 2021, The Marvels was postponed to July 27, 2023 because of all the changes imposed by the pandemic.
As a result, the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) schedule changed the release order and made the meeting between Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) ) was integrated into Phase 5, arriving after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
1. Aquaman and the Lost Empire
Another DC movie that suffered from multiple delays was Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The feature film starring Jason Momoa finished filming almost a year ago and we will only see the return of the underwater hero on December 25, 2023. And the big question is why so much delay.
We already know that the adventure will no longer connect to the extinct DCEU and it may be that this extra time is related to reshoots to make the necessary changes, possibly eliminating connections with stories that will not happen.
However, this is purely speculative, as information about the sequel is more than sparse.
