As we’ve heard from both Zachary Levi and director David F. Sandberg, the fate of Shazam in James Gunn’s DCU depends on the box office success of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Ummmm…well, then things aren’t looking very good after a dismal $30M domestic debut and $65M overall.
The early projections were never strong, and as it turns out, Sandberg was ready for the worst.
Tagged in a Reddit post about Shazam 2‘s poor box office, Sandberg teases that he saw it coming, but also that he’ll be more than alright no matter what happens. He said, “No worries. It’s not like this comes as a surprise. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I’ll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront.”
#Shazam 2 director, David F. Sandberg, jokes/pokes fun at people tagging him in posts about the films box office!⚡️?
“No worries. It’s not like this comes as a surprise. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I’ll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront ?”. pic.twitter.com/vMLyll83Hm
— Shazam Updates (@ShazamNews) March 18, 2023
Chances are we aren’t going to see a third Shazam movie. However, I don’t think it’s the end of Levi in the role. He and Gunn are pretty good buds, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Levi reprises the role in another movie. SPOILER ALERT: Be sure to stay through the credits for a hint of Shazam’s future.
On the plus side for Sandberg, it seems that he’s ready to be done with superhero movies, anyway. In a recent interview with THR, Sandberg talked about going back to his horror roots. He broke out with the 2016 horror Lights Out, which he followed up with Conjuring Universe spinoff, Annabelle: Creation.
“That’s definitely how I feel right now, yeah. (Laughs.) I started my Shazam journey right after Annabelle: Creation in 2017, and so it’s been quite a few years of just Shazam. So I’m very ready to move on and go back to horror and just try some other things.”
To that end, Sandberg revealed that he has a project in the works that will reunite him with The Conjuring creator, James Wan.
“I actually have one project in development with James (Wan). It’s not at Universal, but it’s with his company, Atomic Monster. And I have been talking a lot with Walter (Hamada) about finding something to do together. I’ve worked with Walter on every single one of my movies so far. I’ve never made a movie without him, so I would love to do more with Walt.”
