While Paula Wagner announced her departure for United Artists, the movie studio has another piece of news to share with movie fans.

Earlier this year, United Artists announced that the World War II thriller “Valkyrie,” which Tom Cruise stars in and exec produces through United Artists, has been postponed for a Feb. 13, 2009 release, in order to benefit from an unexpectedly cleared Presidents Day weekend.

But in a sudden change of heart, United Artists announced on Wednesday night that the release "Valkyrie" was moved back in 2008 and the movie will premiere on December 26.

“Valkyrie” is directed by Bryn Singer (“The Usual Suspects”) and is based on a true story: the July 20 Plot of German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Cruise stars in “Valkyrie” as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a German nobleman who opposed Hitler’s policy and plotted to eliminate him. Considered one of Germany’s few heroes of the Nazi era, he was executed when his plan to assassinate Hitler failed.

Cruise’s casting as the defiant aristocratic officer has sparked a controversy in Germany. Cruise is famous for being a Scientologist and the German government does not approve of Scientology, thus considering Cruise an inappropriate choice for portraying the colonel.

The cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Christian Berkel, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson.

The film was originally scheduled for a June release and delayed to October, in order for additional filming to be done.