The first Shazam! movie might not have been a massive hit, but fans and critics alike reacted well enough to it, so of course a sequel was coming sooner rather than later. While the next logical step in the Shazam! saga was to pit the iconic DC hero against his traditional antagonist Black Adam, the powers that be chose to keep them separate for at least one more installment.
With the Dwayne Johnson-led Black Adam movie now dead in the water and Shazam’s continuity within the larger DC universe in question, a live-action conflict between the two characters – current iteration or not – might not happen for a long time. The second Shazam! installment has built up its world and mythology regardless, though.
The big hurdle in Shazam’s immediate future is that Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad filmmaker James Gunn has taken over the creative side of all audiovisual DC projects moving forward, creating DC Studios and establishing a new plan for the company’s IPs across movies, T.V., and even video games. The first “chapter” of this new age for DC media is called ‘Gods and Monsters’ and is set to begin in 2025 with a fresh new version of Superman written by Gunn himself. While it appears that some characters from the current DC Extended Universe will survive this reboot, others must change in order to work within the new narrative roadmap. Ongoing “elseworlds” stories such as The Batman’s sequels and Joker: Folie à Deux will remain untouched.
Before we jump into our extensive breakdown of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, we suggest checking out our DC Extended Universe movies ranked, worst to best (minus Black Adam), or the big list of all the Marvel movies in order if you’re more of a Marvel aficionado.
How to watch Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be available to stream on HBO Max (or just Max now) from May 23, 2023.
Even though Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ production wasn’t troublesome, Warner Bros. struggled to find a suitable release spot for it due to major strategic shifts and the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally set for release on April 1, 2022, then was pushed back several times before eventually committing to a final March 17, 2023 release, away from other major blockbusters such as Avatar: The Way of Water.
What is the plot of Shazam! Fury of the Gods?
In Shazam! Fury of the Gods, teenager-turned-superhero Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster siblings face an even greater threat in the shape of the Daughters of Atlas, who apparently aren’t okay with the group “stealing” the powers of the gods.
In typical superhero sequel fashion, we also find Billy doubting his place in the world as the original Shazam (Zachary Levi) now that his siblings also have superpowers and appear to be doing just fine without him leading the team. Also, The Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) returns to warn Billy of the new threat and offer much-needed assistance.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods trailers
Warner Bros. has given DC fans and general audiences two trailers of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The first one arrived on July 23, 2022, offering an extensive first look at the sequel’s blend of light-hearted comedy and fantasy adventure. You can watch it below:
A second trailer dropped on January 26, 2023. This second preview gave the spotlight to the Daughters of Atlas and their nefarious plans. Its tone is more traditional and doubles down on the epic action rather than the first movie’s signature humor. Check it out here:
Shazam! Fury of the Gods cast
Most of the original Shazam! cast is back for Fury of the Gods, with Asher Angel (Billy Batson) and Zachary Levi (Shazam) leading the ensemble.
They are joined by Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy), Adam Brody (superhero Freddy), Grace Caroline Currey (Mary and superhero Mary), Faithe Herman (Darla), Meagan Good (superhero Darla), Ian Chen (Eugene), Ross Butler (superhero Eugene), Jovan Armand (Pedro), D.J. Cotrona (superhero Pedro), Marta Milans (Rosa Vásquez), Cooper Andrews (Victor Vásquez), and Djimon Hounsou (Shazam the Wizard).
The Daughters of Atlas are portrayed by Rachel Zegler (Anthea), Lucy Liu (Kalypso), and Helen Mirren (Hespera).
Shazam! Fury of the Gods director, writers, and crew
Former horror filmmaker David F. Sandberg is back in the director’s chair for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and so is Henry Gayden, who cracked the story and co-wrote the screenplay for the original movie. Fast & Furious veteran Chris Morgan was invited into the project as co-writer.
Horror cinematographer Maxime Alexandre has been replaced by Gyula Pados, who worked on darker movies like Predators, but also lent his expertise to big blockbusters such as the recent Jumanji reboot sequels and two Maze Runner entries.
There’s also been a major change in the original soundtrack department, with Benjamin Wallfisch unable to score the sequel due to scheduling issues. This is probably related to his work on DC’s The Flash, which also arrives this year. Christophe Beck (Ant-Man movies, WandaVision, Hawkeye) has taken over scoring duties.
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