Shazam! 2 Director Reveals Why Mr. Mind Was Cut From Sequel

After years of being in the works, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to arrive in theaters next spring, continuing the mythos of DC's superpowered found family. While the teasers and trailers for the film have hinted at some clever explorations of the magical mythos, there are still some plot threads of the first Shazam! left unexplored, including the post-credits sting introducing Mr. Mime. In a recent Q&A on his Instagram, director David F. Sandberg revealed that Mr. Mind won't be appearing in the sequel, because including him would have been "too much movie."

Shazam! Fury of the Gods stars Asher Angel and Zachary Levi as Billy Batson / Shazam!, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Meagan Good as Super Hero Darla, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Ross Butler as Super Hero Eugene, Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena, D.J. Cotrona as Super Hero Pedro, Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez, and Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez. New cast members also include Rachel Zegler in a currently-unknown role, Helen Mirren as Hespera, and Lucy Liu as Kalypso.

"I loved the first Shazam movie," producer Peter Safran explained in an interview with Collider earlier this year. "I thought it was beautifully done. I thought that David Sandberg nailed that tone so incredibly well. The eye of the needle was so small to get it right, but he really did nail it. I feel like this second one has more emotion, more humor, but it also has bigger action, bigger set pieces, some great villains. I just feel like it's everything that we loved in the first movie but really turned up to 11. So I love it."

"I think the addition of some of these new characters with Rachel Zegler and Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu are fantastic editions," Safran continued. "I love that the kids are all a little bit older now so we get to have a little bit more fun in kind of an edgier fashion with them. Zach inhabits that character in such a beautiful fashion. So to have been able to make a second one of those, it's a thrill."

Are you excited for Shazam! Fury of the Gods? How do you feel about this new release date delay? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will now be released exclusively in theaters on March 17, 2023.