Last week sparked some major updates with regards to Shazam! Fury of the Gods, with the DC sequel having its release date moved up six months earlier than previously planned. The live-action film will now be opening on December 16, 2022 as opposed to June 2, 2023, which has only ignited even more speculation and excitement regarding whatever secrets it might have in store. Among them is the mysterious “key role” that will be portrayed by West Side Story and Snow White‘s Rachel Zegler, which fans have begun to hope could be a significant character within the lore of DC Comics. Director David F. Sandberg recently poked fun at those theories in a pretty epic way, posting a video that acknowledges a fan-made poll with possibilities of who Zegler is playing, with options that include Wonder Girl and Hawkgirl. Also among the list is Tawky Tawny, the anthropomorphic talking tiger associated with the Shazam! family in the comics.
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In the video, which you can check out above, Sandberg looks over the poll options and then pans over to a “page” from Fury of the Gods’ script, which “spoils” a fake conversation between Zegler’s character, Billy Batson (Asher Angel), and Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer). The “page” sees Zegler’s character “come clean” about being a tiger named Tawny, which provokes a spirited debate about the merits of Frosted Flakes. Sandberg’s joking video even provoked multiple responses from Zegler, with her first responding with laughter, and then telling Sandberg “you’re my hero I think.”
The cast of Shazam! Fury of the Gods includes Zachary Levi as 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 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? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to be released on December 16th.
