During the press junket for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, director Sam Raimi was asked what superhero movies he was most impressed by. The first thing out of his mouth: David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!. The 2019 movie was a box office success for Warners, which seemed to have little faith in it ahead of release. Starring Zachary Levi in the title role, the movie was arguably the most family-friendly installment of the shared DC Films universe, although it wasn’t without its scary moments, considering it hails from the director of movies like Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation.
There’s where some shared DNA with Raimi comes in, of course, since Doctor Strange 2 has been called Marvel’s first foray into the horror genre, even though it’s still a huge superhero blockbuster that’s rated PG-13. But someone with their roots in indie horror like Sandberg can’t help but be a little happy when he gets praise from the director of the Evil Dead trilogy.
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“I was really impressed with Shazam!,” Raimi says in the video, which a fan shared with Sandberg on Twitter. “I couldn’t believe they made a successful movie out of that character. It was really fun and funny.”
“This made my day, thank you for letting me know!” Sandberg replied back.
The exchange came as a new entry in a weeks-old thread announcing a date change for Shazam!: Fury of the Gods. The movie was shifted about a week in order to avoid opening on the same day as Avatar: The Way of Water. Initially planned for a 2023 release, the film was moved up when DC delayed a number of other films, which they said would be unlikely to be completed in time due to delays in completing visual effects.
The cast of Shazam! Fury of the Gods includes Zachary Levi as Shazam!, Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, 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 Helen Mirren as Hespera, and Lucy Liu as Kalypso.
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods is currently expected to hit theaters on December 16.