#Wonder Woman 2 HBO Max Premiere Date: December 25, 2020

HBO Max is giving us a very special holiday gift this year. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wonder Woman 1984 will premiere on the streaming platform and in theaters on Dec. 25. The news comes after the premiere date for the Wonder Woman sequel was delayed multiple times due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The new Wonder Woman film, which brings back star Gal Gadot as Diana Prince and director Patty Jenkins, was originally slated for a June 5 premiere and was later pushed back to October, before settling on a theatrical release on Christmas Day. Warner Bros. anticipated a big hit with Wonder Woman 1984 after the success of the first film, which pulled in $822 million worldwide in 2017, but the pandemic continued to complicate release plans as cases surged and many theaters remained closed.

“The time has come. At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else. We love our move as we love our fans, so we truly hope that our film brings a little bit of joy and reprieve to all of you this holiday season,” Jenkins said, per Variety. “What it in theaters, where it is made safe to do so (check out the great work theaters have done to make it so!) And available in the safety of your home on HBO Max where it is not. Happy holidays to all of you. We hope you enjoy our film as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Before today’s announcement, Wonder Woman 1984 was the only tentpole film still eyeing a theatrical release this year. But according to Variety, “the studio decided it was too risky to open another $200 million-budgeted film on the big screen in the middle of the coronavirus crisis without a safety net like HBO Max.”

In a letter to fans posted on Medium, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar explained why the company decided to release Wonder Woman on HBO Max. “For a movie of this scale, this is unprecedented. Given that, we wanted to share some context,” he wrote. “There are many things that factor into a decision like this: The pandemic. Our belief in the theatrical experience and, to that end, the importance of exhibitors. Our mission to be strong and supportive partners to Patty, Gal, producer Chuck Rovner and the entire Wonder Woman 1984 team. And finally, the fans, which is where important decisions like this should always start and should always end.”

Back in October, HBO Max chief Andy Forssell seemingly hinted at the Wonder Woman 1984 release in an interview with Decider, pointing to a December streaming premiere but not revealing too much at the time. “I have nothing I can share right now. I have one specific thing in mind that I can’t talk about,” Forssell said following a long pause.

Wonder Woman 1984‘s shift to streaming follows the release of another Warner Bros. film, Tenet, in September. The Christopher Nolan movie marked the first major film to premiere in theaters since the pandemic began, but it failed to bring in moviegoers and suffered from a disappointing box office. Tenet will premiere on VOD Dec. 15.