'Shazam! 2' Gets April 2022 Release Date, A Month After 'Black Panther 2'

A day after announcing the release dates for two of its upcoming tent-poles, “The Flash” and the “Matrix” sequel, Warner Bros. surprised everyone on Thursday by unveiling the release date for another highly-anticipated superhero movie.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the renowned studio announced that the sequel to this year’s hit “Shazam!” will open in theaters on April 1, 2022. The original movie turned out to be a success for the company and its subsidiary New Line Cinema since it accumulated over $360 million at the global box office at a production budget of just $80 million.

Currently, the film has a score of 90 percent on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

“Shazam!” chronicles the journey of an abandoned 14-year-old boy named Billy Batson who isolates himself from anyone to give him anything until he is given a final chance to settle in with a new foster family. But one day after running away from school, he runs into a powerful wizard who tells him to take the mantle of Shazam, the mythical superhero. By shouting just one word — Shazam — the streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the grown-up superhero.

All the actors in the original movie will be coming back for the sequel. Zachary Levi will reprise the title character while David F. Sandberg will be back as the director. The sequel will open just one month before Marvel's “Black Panther 2,” which is slated for release on May 6, 2022.

The release date of the sequel means DC Extended Universe will now have three superhero movies releasing in 2022. Ezra Miller’s “The Flash” will hit theaters on July 1 of that year, while Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman 2” will release on Dec. 16.

On the other hand, the studio also announced that the live-action “Sesame Street” movie has been pushed back to Jan. 14, 2022. The film starring Anne Hathaway in the lead was originally slated for release on June 4, 2021.

In related news, WB announced on Wednesday that the fourth installment in the “Matrix” franchise will be released on May 21, 2021 . Interestingly, the newest film in the “Matrix” franchise will now compete with “John Wick: Chapter 4” at the box office. Both films starring Keanu Reeves in the lead will release on the same day.

The stars of the original series, Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, will return for the upcoming movie alongside Lana Wachowski, who will be directing the film.