Shazam! Fury Of The Gods

''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Shazam. Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Studios, and the Safran Company, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is intended to be the sequel to '' Shazam!'' (2019) and the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It is directed by David F. Sandberg and written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, and stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, and Helen Mirren. In the film, a family of teenage heroes led by Billy Batson / Shazam fight the Daughters of Atlas.

A sequel to ''Shazam!'' began development shortly after that film's release in April 2019, with Gayden returning as writer. Sandberg and Levi (Shazam) were also set to return by that December. The title and rest of the returning cast were confirmed in August 2020, including Asher as Billy Batson. Zegler, Mirren, and Liu were cast as the daughters of Atlas in early 2021. Filming began that May in Atlanta, Georgia, and concluded in August.

''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 17, 2023.

Premise

When Billy Batson and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying "Shazam!", are forced to get back into action and fight the Daughters of Atlas, they must stop them from using a weapon that could destroy the world in which they must travel in order to make peace with the Gods because of Billy taking their powers for granted.

Cast

* Zachary Levi and Asher Angel as Billy Batson / Shazam:
The champion of an ancient wizard, who possesses "the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury".
* Jack Dylan Grazer as Frederick "Freddy" Freeman: Billy's physically disabled foster brother, who is a fan of superheroes.
** Adam Brody portrays Freddy's adult superhero form.
* Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Billy's younger foster brother who is an obsessive gamer.
** Ross Butler portrays Eugene's adult superhero form.
* Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Billy's mature and academically-driven older foster sister.
**Fulton additionally portrays Mary's adult superhero form, replacing Michelle Borth from the first movie.
* Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Billy's older foster brother, who is shy and sensitive.
**D. J. Cotrona portrays Pedro's adult superhero form.
* Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Billy's good-natured younger foster sister.
**Meagan Good portrays Darla's adult superhero form.
* Rachel Zegler as Anthea, a daughter of Atlas
* Helen Mirren as Hespera, a daughter of Atlas
* Lucy Liu as Kalypso, a daughter of Atlas
* Djimon Hounsou as Shazam: The last surviving member of the Council of Wizards, who bestowed his powers on Billy Batson, after designating the boy as his champion.

Billy's foster family also includes Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews as Rosa and Victor Vásquez, the foster parents of Billy and his siblings. Rizwan Manji, who portrayed Jamil in the DCEU television series ''Peacemaker'', appears as an unnamed character. Director David F. Sandberg's wife Lotta Losten, who previously portrayed Dr. Lynn Crosby in the first film, will appear as a new character due to Crosby dying in the previous film.

Production

Development

With the successful opening of '' Shazam!'' in April 2019, Henry Gayden was revealed to be returning to write the script for a sequel. Director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran were also expected to return. Later that month, Michelle Borth, who portrayed the adult superhero form of Mary Bromfield in the first film, said she signed a five-picture deal for the role and was expected to return for at least one sequel. Zachary Levi confirmed in June that he was returning to star as Shazam in the sequel, and revealed that writing had begun ahead of a planned filming start in mid-2020. Sandberg and much of the first film's crew were confirmed to return in December 2019, when New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures scheduled the sequel for release on April 1, 2022. This was delayed in April 2020 to November 4, 2022, and delayed again to March 17, 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pre-production

In June 2020, Marta Milans confirmed that she would reprise her role as foster mother Rosa Vásquez from the first film, and revealed that filming had been delayed by the pandemic. The film's title was revealed to be ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' during the virtual DC FanDome event in August 2020, with returning cast members confirmed including Asher Angel as teenager Billy Batson and Levi as his adult superhero counterpart, Jack Dylan Grazer as Frederick "Freddy" Freeman and Adam Brody as his adult counterpart, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley and Meagan Good as her adult counterpart, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi and Ross Butler as his adult counterpart, and Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña with D. J. Cotrona as his adult counterpart. The next month, Levi said filming would begin in early 2021.

The film's release was delayed again in October, to June 2, 2023. The following month, Mark Strong said he was waiting to hear if he would be returning as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana in the sequel. In January 2021, Good said filming would begin that May, and Rachel Zegler was cast in an undisclosed "key role" the next month. Geoff Johns was producing the film through his company Mad Ghost Productions, alongside Safran with his company the Safran Company. Chris Morgan contributed to the film's script. In March, Helen Mirren was cast as Hespera, a daughter of Atlas, with Zegler reported to be playing Hespera's sister, Anthea. Lucy Liu was cast as Kalypso, another daughter of Atlas, the next month. Strong said in May that he would not appear in the sequel, and Cooper Andrews was confirmed to reprise his role as foster father Víctor Vásquez from the first film. Early during the film's development, Sandberg wanted to bring back Mister Mind, a villainous character teased in the mid-credits scene of the first film whom Sandberg voiced, for the sequel in a bigger role, but his inclusion was ultimately dropped due to it requiring too much of the film's runtime, aside that he had to drop several other elements to not "overstuff" the film.

Filming

Principal photography began on May 26, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia, with Gyula Pados serving as cinematographer. Production on the film was delayed from an initial mid-2020 start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, Sandberg revealed that Currey was also portraying the adult superhero form of Mary in the film, replacing Borth, with Currey's hair and makeup adjusted for the superhero version. A month later, set photos revealed that Djimon Hounsou would be reprising his role as the wizard Shazam. Filming concluded on August 31, 2021.

Post-production

In March 2022, Warner Bros. adjusted its release schedule due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the workload of visual effects vendors. ''The Flash'' and ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' were moved from 2022 to 2023 to allow time for their visual effects work to be completed, while ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' was moved up to ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' previous release date of December 16, 2022, because it would be ready for release earlier. In April, the film's release date was pushed back five days to December 21 to avoid competition with '' Avatar: The Way of Water''. Rizwan Manji was revealed to be appearing as an unnamed character in July 2022. Manji was suggested for the role by Safran, who also produced the DCEU television series ''Peacemaker'' in which Manji portrayed Jamil. Sandberg approved the casting, despite the series being set in the same universe as the film, because he thought Manji only had a small role in ''Peacemaker''. He was surprised to learn that Manji has a significant role and appears in the opening title sequence of the series. ''Peacemaker'' creator James Gunn suggested that Manji's character in ''Fury of the Gods'' could be Jamil's brother. In August, after WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, the studio delayed the film to March 17, 2023 (again taking ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' previous release date), to help spread out the marketing and distribution costs for its feature films. This also moved ''Fury of the Gods'' away from ''Avatar: The Way of Water''. By November 1, 2022, Sandberg confirmed that the final cut was complete and ready for release.

Music

In June 2022, Sandberg revealed that Benjamin Wallfisch was unable to return as composer from the first film due to scheduling conflicts, with Christophe Beck replacing him for the sequel and already beginning work by then.

Marketing

Sandberg promoted the sequel during a virtual panel at the August 2020 DC FanDome event, announcing the film's title and returning cast. In June 2021, after a week of filming, Sandberg released a short clip featuring Levi in his new costume for the film; this came after several set photos of the costume were leaked during that week. To get ahead of further costume leaks, Sandberg released an image of Levi, Brody, Good, Currey, Butler, and Cotrona in their new superhero costumes for the film at the end of the month. Behind-the-scenes footage and concept art from the film was revealed during the 2021 DC FanDome event in October, with ''io9'' Rob Bricken and ''Collider'' Gregory Lawrence both expressing excitement at the new cast members, characters, locations, and mythology revealed in the footage. Levi, Angel, Grazer, and Mirren promoted the film at Warner Bros.' CinemaCon panel in April 2022, revealing new footage from the film. The film was also promoted at San Diego Comic-Con in July, where the first trailer was released.

Release

''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on March 17, 2023. It is the first DC Extended Universe film to use the DC Studios name. It was originally set for release on April 1, 2022, before it was delayed to November 4, 2022, and then to June 2, 2023, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then moved up to December 16, 2022, since it was ready for release sooner than other DC films delayed by the pandemic. That date was previously given to ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom''. The release date was pushed back five days to December 21 in April 2022 to avoid competition with 20th Century Studios’ ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', before being moved to ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' release date again (the March 2023 date) in August 2022 when Warner Bros. Discovery was trying to spread out marketing and distribution costs. This also meant IMAX screens that would have been used by ''Avatar: The Way of Water'' would be available for the film.

References

External links

*
*

{{Portal bar, Film, United States, Speculative fiction, Comics

2020s adventure comedy films
2020s superhero films
2020s teen comedy films
2023 action comedy films
2023 fantasy films
2023 science fiction films
American action comedy films
American adventure comedy films
American fantasy films
American science fiction films
American sequel films
American superhero comedy films
American teen comedy films
DC Extended Universe films
Fantasy action films
Films about magic
Films based on classical mythology
Films directed by David F. Sandberg
Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films produced by Peter Safran
Films produced by Geoff Johns
Films scored by Christophe Beck
Films shot in Atlanta
Films with screenplays by Chris Morgan
Films with screenplays by Henry Gayden
New Line Cinema films
Shazam! (film series)
Seven Bucks Productions films
Superhero crossover films
Teen superhero films
Upcoming sequel films
Warner Bros. films
2020s English-language films
2020s American films