By Brian Gallagher for Dailymail.com
05:23 Jul 21, 2023, updated at 7:58 Jul 21, 2023
Warner Bros. thinks. in pushing three of its biggest films due out at the end of this year into 2024, amid double blows 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) are all seen for new dates for 2024, via diverse.
Strike rules from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA prohibit their members from promoting any work coming from an infested company.
This means that they cannot participate in any red carpet premieres, Q&As, press releases, or any other interviews while on strike, which would be a huge blow to all of the marketing campaigns for the aforementioned films.
While no dates have been confirmed — and Warner Bros. has not commented. As Variety reports – the thought of pushing three of their biggest movies into next year is likely an indication that the studio doesn’t think the strike will be over by mid-fall, which also comes after reports Aquaman and Lost Kingdom underwent three massive reshoots.
Dune: Part Two is the finale to 2021’s Dune, the studio’s sprawling adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction blockbuster.
The film features a star-studded cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Christopher Walken.
The original 896-page novel was published as a two-part serial in Analog magazine before the novel won the inaugural Hugo Award and Nebula Award.
Director Denis Villeneuve had embarked on an ambitious two-part film he hoped would succeed where David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, Sci-Fi Channel’s 1990 adaptation and director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s infamous attempt at a sequel failed.
Part 1 was a success, grossing $402 million theatrical worldwide despite the film being simultaneously available on HBO Max, earning 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, and winning six Oscars in technical categories.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom also builds on the success of its predecessor, with 2018’s Aquaman earning $335 million domestically and $1.148 billion worldwide.
Jason Momoa returns as the title character, along with 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).
It was reported earlier this week that director James Wan brought back his cast for a third round of reshoots, said to be “unprecedented” for a film of this magnitude.
If the film is pushed to 2024, it would give director Wan and his editors more time to craft the film, which will be the last DCEU project created under the former DC Studios regime, before James Gunn and Peter Safran take over.
The Color Purple is the latest adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel by Alice Walker, which spawned the 1985 version of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover and the film debut of Oprah Winfrey.
The film received 11 Academy Award nominations, although it did not win any, sparking controversy among many critics who considered it the best picture of the year, including Roger Ebert (Out of Africa won Best Picture).
The new adaptation from Blitz Bazawule stars Halle Berry, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks.