It really is the month of movie delays, where films of all sizes and types realize that maybe their safer release dates aren't going to work out after all. Not too long ago it was announced that No Time to Die would be getting a delay, angering many theater owners, and on top of that, Fast & Furious 9 also got a slight delay. It's not all bad news however, while The Batman is officially delayed to 2022, The Matrix 4, in a surprising move, has actually been pushed up to 2021.
The Batman being delayed isn't the most surprising news, after the difficulties with production and a suite of other DC films getting pushed back, but the The Matrix 4 info is quite interesting. Warner Bros. has yet to comment on why it has moved up one movie while pushing back everything else; perhaps The Matrix 4 has simply been going more smoothly than other projects, or maybe the film is just considered a higher priority than others. It's hard to say, but it is strange that this project in particular is getting moved forward while Warner Bros. continues to delay other films to the point of taking them off the release schedule.
Still, it is disappointing to see more delay news, even if it's for the best. Between all the big studios holding onto their projects for the time being, 2021 and 2022 are going to be absolutely filled to bursting with big name releases. That is, provided the Coronavirus pandemic clears up and people are actually able to go see them. For the time being, a great deal of theaters in the United States are still closed, meaning one of the world's biggest movie-watching audiences is currently off the table, at least for theater releases.
With every movie being shifted around these days, there is some speculation about what will be delayed indefinitely and what will find a release on VOD or streaming. Mulan was the first really big movie to bite the bullet and release in an alternative format, though Trolls: World Tour proved it could be done successfully some time beforehand. Between Mulan's somewhat iffy returns and Tenet's disappointing box office however, it seems most studios are stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of release options, and audiences may not be seeing many new films for quite some time.
The Matrix 4 will release in December of 2021, while The Batman is currently scheduled for 2022.
Source: IGN