The Batman officially delayed until 2022 in major Warners Bros reshuffle

The Batman has officially been pushed back to at least early 2022, after Warners Bros. made the call to delay the Robert Pattinson superhero flick and a number of other DC Comics blockbusters on Monday evening.

The delayed release date for the next Batman blockbuster movie comes as no major shock, especially after Denis Villeneuve’s Dune was similarly delayed by nearly a year earlier today.

The Batman won’t be the only DC Comics tentpole film pushed back either. The Flash and Shazam 2 have both also been reshuffled.

Warners Bros. has handed The Batman a new March 4, 2022 release date, six months later than it was originally slated for. The Flash will now drop on Nov. 4, 2022, while the Shazam sequel swaps to a new June 2, 2023 release date.

This isn’t the first issue The Batman has faced as it started shooting. Production was halted late last month after lead star Robert Pattinson fell ill and was forced to quarantine.

The Batman shuffle comes after Dune moved straight into a collision course with the superhero blockbuster. Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation was bounced back from its announced Dec. 18 date after Warners Bros. “reassessed” the market.

According to Collider, Villeneuve reportedly has been very supportive of the delay decision,  mainly due to the fact he “made Dune to be seen on the big screen.”

The high-profile DC films were far from the only Warners Bros. productions delayed in their Oct. 5 announcement. Shazam 2 spinoff Black Adam has now been shifted from its original Dec. 22 date, and removed from the calendar entirely.

• Read more: How Twilight is helping Robert Pattinson play The Batman

Video game adaptation ‘Minecraft’ was also removed from the release slate.

The Batman may have just been pushed back, but when it does eventually arrive Robert Pattinson has promised it will tell the story of “the early days” of Bruce Wayne.

“It’s not an origin story,” he said. “What’s really important about this iteration, for me, is you know a lot of the other stories are about how he had to master fear in order to be Batman… in that Batman state, the character is sort of his best self.”

Stick with Dexerto @CultureCrave for any further movie delays and changes.