Shazam! Fury of the Gods: Mark Strong Won’t Be Returning as Doctor Sivana, but He’s “Very Happy to Give Way to Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu”

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is about to begin production, and many fans have been wondering if Mark Strong would be returning as Doctor Sivana, especially after the first movie’s end credits scene teased a future for his character and Mr. Mind. Recently, ComicBook.com had the chance to chat with Strong about his next movie, Cruella, and we asked about his DCEU plans. Unfortunately, Strong confirmed he will not be in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but he expressed his excitement for Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, who will be joining the Shazam! sequel as the villain Hespera and her sister, Kalypso, respectively.

“You’re not going to see me in the sequel. Finally, I’m finally allowed to say it. I’ve had to sort of bite my tongue for so long, but I think they’re about to start filming in Atlanta and I’m very happy to give way to Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, who I think are going to make a couple of fantastic villains. I mean, judging by the performances by Emma Thompson and Emma Stone in Cruella, it’s time for the female villains, I think,” Strong shared. “Well, you know, maybe he’s gone unfinished with Mister Mind and we’ll be back further down the line, who knows.”

Strong also talked to us about the first Shazam! and why it’s such a great family film.

“I think it’s so much fun,” Strong began. “You know, my boys absolutely loved that film and all their pals just thought it was great. And it’s got, you know, Zach [Levi] has got such an irrepressible sort of sense about him that it’s just it’s very watchable. And all the boys in it were, all the family, you know, they were fantastic. So it’s got those cozy, it’s got family values. It’s got good over evil. It’s got everything you kind of want from that kind of a movie. Actually, the only one that I can think of that I would say is in the same league is the one you mentioned earlier which is Stardust, which is a fantastic movie.”

While we won’t be seeing Strong in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, we can at least look forward to his role as John the Valet in Cruella. The movie is set to star Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, Joel Fry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Emily Beecham. The film is directed by I, Tonya‘s Craig Gillespie, with a screenplay from Dana Fox and Tony McNamara. The original One Hundred and One Dalmatians novel was written by Dodie Smith.

You can watch our full interview with Strong at the top of the page.

Cruella arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on May 28th.