By Brian Gallagher for Dailymail.com 5:23 AM 21 Jul 2023, updated 7:58 AM 21 Jul 2023
Warner Bros. is considering delaying three of its biggest films slated for later this year to 2024 due to a double hit from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA.
Dune: Part Two (November 3), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 20), and The Color Purple (December 25) will all be keeping an eye on for new dates in 2024 via Variety.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike rules prohibit their members from advertising forthcoming work by a striking company.
This means that they will not be able to attend red carpet premieres, Q&A, press conferences or other interviews during the strike, which would deal a severe blow to any marketing campaigns of the above films.
While no dates have been confirmed yet — and Warner Bros. hasn’t commented on the Variety report — the consideration of pushing back three of their biggest films into next year is likely an indication that the studio doesn’t think the strike will be over by mid-fall, which comes after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom reportedly underwent three major reshoots.
Dune to 2024?: Warner Bros. is considering delaying three of its biggest films slated for later this year to 2024 amid double strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA. New Dates: Dune: Part Two (November 3rd), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 20th) and The Color Purple (December 25th) will all be eyed for new dates in 2024 via Varie Strike Rules: The strike rules of both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA prohibit their members from promoting upcoming work by a company on strike
Dune: Part Two concludes 2021’s Dune, the studio’s massive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s masterful 1965 science fiction novel.
The film features a star cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Christopher Walken.
The original 896-page novel was published as a two-part series in Analog magazine before the novel won the Hugo Award and the first Nebula Award.
Director Denis Villeneuve set out to direct an ambitious two-parter that he hoped would thrive where David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, a 1990 Sci-Fi Channel adaptation, and filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s infamous attempt at adaptation had previously failed.
The first installment was a success, grossing $402 million theatrically worldwide, despite the film also being available on HBO Max at the same time. It received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won six Academy Awards in technical categories.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom also builds on the success of its predecessor: 2018’s Aquaman grossed $335 million domestically and $1.148 billion worldwide.
Jason Momoa returns as the title character, alongside Patrick Wilson (King Orm), Amber Heard (Queen Mera), Dolph Lundgren (Nereus), Nicole Kidman (Atlanna), Yahya Abdul-Mateen III (Black Manta), and Temuera Morrison (Tom Curry).
Earlier this week it was reported that director James Wan was bringing back his cast for a third round of reshoots in what was “unprecedented” for a film of its size.
Conclusion: Dune: Part Two is the conclusion of 2021’s Dune, the massive studio adaptation of Frank Herbert’s masterful 1965 science fiction novel Christopher: The film features a star cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Christopher Walken
Delaying the film to 2024 will give director Wan and his editors more time to flesh out the film, which will be the last DCEU project created under the previous DC Studios regime before James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the helm.
The Color Purple is the latest adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which spawned a 1985 adaptation of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey’s feature film debut.
The adaptation received 11 Oscar nominations but didn’t win any, which was quite controversial with many critics who saw it as the best film of the year, including Roger Ebert (Out of Africa won the Best Picture award).
Director Blitz Bazawule’s new adaptation stars Halle Berry, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks.