Billy Batson sharing his powers and the magic of the Wizard Shazam is no new development, and in fact was the not-so-secret final act of the recent feature film (itself pulled directly from the pages of DC Comics). Scribe Geoff Johns continues his latest run on the character at DC in a story that feels perfectly set up to be the blueprint for a Shazam 2 and in the latest issue of the series Billy has managed to share his powers with a surprise person from his family, his biological dad.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Straight from the pages of this week’s Shazam #8, Billy found himself at the mercy of many of his enemies including Black Adam, the Seven Deadly Sins, plus Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind. As Billy attempts to fight off his enemies and save his dad, they drop him from many stories up in the air leaving him to plummet to a certain death. Remembering what the wizard told him about not only his abilities but what it means to be family, Billy tells his dad to say the magic word, allowing him to transform into a Shazam-ified version of himself, the image of which you can see below.
Given how closely the first Shazam movie stuck to Geoff Johns’ New 52 version of the story, and how this latest version picks up the baton left by both the comic and the movie, it seems likely we could be heading for this story on the big screen. Even the post-credit scene for Shazam teased the arrival of Mister Mind who would team up with Doctor Sivana. It remains unclear if this specific moment will play out in the big screen sequel though, especially since we may not see Black Adam and Shazam in the same movie until much later.
While a Shazam! sequel has yet to be officially announced by DC, early details around it have begun to come to light. Henry Gayden will be returning to write the film’s script, with director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran set to return as well. Levi has previously played coy about whether or not a sequel – and potential films beyond that – would be in store. Production on the sequel is expected to begin in late spring or early summer of 2020.
Written by Geoff Johns and featuring art by Marco Santucci, you can read the official description for Shazam #8 below.
“As Billy Batson and the rest of the Shazam Family are about to learn as they cross over into the Darklands, the Magiclands aren’t all fun and games! In a world filled with all kinds of frightful creatures and haunts, nothing will compare to the horrors of Billy’s own internalized fears.”
