Anyone looking forward to seeing The Batman Part II in 2025 just got a kick in the chops today from entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD). It turns out the new release date has been pushed back pretty far. That wasn’t good news, even for investors, who sent Warner shares down nearly 2.5% in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading.
Originally, the second outing for the once-again-revived Batman series—which now features Robert Pattinson as the title character—was set for release on October 3, 2025. That alone would have been quite a wait, but Warner stepped up to make a bad situation even worse with an October 2, 2026 release instead, almost one full year later than originally projected.
As for reasons, there were none to speak of, but it’s worth remembering that a wide range of movies have already been delayed thanks to the recent strikes from writers and actors. Now, Warner only has one superhero movie for 2025: James Gunn’s upcoming Superman.
More Projects Get Pushed Back Further
Things only get stranger from there, I’m afraid. The planned yet-again remake of Salem’s Lot, which was already pushed back following the creation of Warner Bros Discovery, has been pushed back even further. In addition, it will no longer appear in theaters and instead will be shunted directly to streaming. Projections now look for a fourth-quarter release on Max.
Meanwhile, plans to proceed with Barbie 2 are in the works, even though neither Greta Gerwig nor Margot Robbie are interested in returning. Given that Barbie pulled in $1.5 billion, though, it’s not surprising that Warner is doing all it can to make lightning strike twice.
Is Rumble a Good Investment?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on WBD stock based on nine Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 36.95% loss in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $13.61 per share implies 53.87% upside potential.
