Shazam! director David F. Sandberg hints its sequel will explore more of the “Shazamily” — the now super-powered foster siblings of Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his adult-sized superhero alter ego (Zachary Levi) — who could face off against Mister Mind.
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“It feels like we could do more with the Shazam family. We just introduced them, but you could explore how they work as a family of heroes,” Sandberg told Backstory Magazine when asked about plot threads that could develop further in a sequel.
“And we threw in a little mid-credits scene with Mister Mind, and you could go down that road. Or you could introduce another villain. There are plenty of ones to choose from in the Shazam world.”
Because Sandberg didn’t want to “hold back” and wait for a sequel, Shazam!’s third act endowed Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mary (Grace Fulton), Eugene (Ian Chen), Pedro (Jovan Pena) and Darla (Faithe Herman) with the same magical abilities that transform Billy into Shazam, making for a flying, fighting family of superheroes.
“I saw a lot of speculating online about the kids turning into their adult counterparts. But people thought there was no way we’d do that in the first film, that we’d save it for the sequel or somewhere down the line,” Sandberg said.
“But for us, it was like, no, let’s do the best we can right now. I think that’s a better way to go. You never know if later is going to happen, so you shouldn’t hold back for no reason. Plus, the movie builds on this family theme, and the big payoff is that anyone can become a superhero, no matter your background.”
Levi recently revealed studio Warner Bros. was “very happy” with Shazam! and hopes to make its sequel “as soon as possible” because of its growing young stars.
“The truth is, I don’t really know anything,” Levi said at Germany’s CCXP Cologne convention in June.
“I know that I’m gonna have a conversation with my bosses pretty soon about what the idea is and where we’re going with the new movie, but all I really know is that New Line, our studio, and Warner Brothers, our parent studio, and DC, and our producers and executives and everybody who’s involved in all of the decision making, they’re all very happy with what we did. They want to do even better the second time around, and they are crafting a story right now as we speak about what that sequel is going to be.”
