Shazam really shocked the hell out of me when it premiered with just how good it ended up being. I shouldn’t have been surprised, Zachary Levi is one of the most underrated stars out there and it’s his charisma that made that first movie a success. If you remember, the last film ended with Billy Batson’s adopted brothers and sisters getting powers of their own, debuting a Shazam! family before the credits rolled.
The trailer for its sequel, Shazam: Fury of the Gods just dropped at SDCC 2022 and I am both thoroughly enthused and somewhat confused. Enthused because it looks like it’s going to be one hell of a good time. Confused because it looks like most of the principal cast was replaced, specifically all of Billy’s adopted brothers and sisters (both the regular and super versions). I’ve only watched the trailer twice and haven’t checked the IMdB but I would swear those are mostly not the same kids. My biggest issue with that is the absence of Adam Brody, who really deserves more from Hollywood and was perfect as the super counter-part to Billy’s snarky best-friend/brother Freddy in the first film.
I do love the theme they’re going with wherein Billy is comparing himself to the Justic League members and lamenting the fact that he doesn’t think he deserves his ‘Super’ status. He’s a 14 year old boy, of COURSE he’s going to doubt himself every step. Plus, it looks like Djimon Hounsou will have a much bigger presence as the ancient source of Billy’s power, Shazam. Oh…can’t forget about Helen Mirren, who steps in as the big bad. Helen Mirren is the Adobo of film, a little sprinkle (or more) on anything is never a bad thing!
Travis said the other footage shown revealed quite a lot of Mirren, Lucy Liu, and West Side Story star Rachel Zegler as the Daughters of Atlas. We also see a lot of what’s being called the “Shazamily”, which is what they’re calling the entire Marvel clan.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods opens on December 21st.
