'Aquaman' Relocates to 'Avatar 2' Release Date in 2018

Aquaman will be swimming into theaters a little later than originally planned.

The DC/Warner Bros. film is moving from Oct. 5, 2018, to the middle of holiday season, Dec. 21, 2018. It will open in 3D.

Aquaman is moving into a slot that is currently still occupied by an untitled Fox film from James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment that was presumably being held for Avatar 2; however, that pic has not yet been given an official release date. Last week, Cameron said Avatar 2 would no longer be released in 2018 as expected.

Dec. 21, 2018, could now be the site of a DC vs. Marvel showdown. Sony Animation's Spider-Man movie, starring the character Miles Morales, is also set for that date. The closest the two comic book companies have come to a head-on box-office collision came when, for a time, the films that would become Captain America: Civil War and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice were both set for May 6, 2016. Marvel had initially staked out the date with an untitled film, and Warner Bros. moved their Batman-Superman showdown to the same date. Eventually, Warners moved BvS earlier to March.

On Thursday, Warner Bros. also announced that its PG-13 comedy Bastards will open on Dec. 22 of this year, and Horse Soldiers, a special-forces drama starring Chris Hemsworth, will be released Jan. 19, 2018, in Imax.

Momoa will appear as Aquaman in November's Justice League.