Shazam! Fury of the Gods Director Says the Villains Will Surprise Fans

With David Sandberg's Shazam!, the masses were introduced to an entirely new corner of the DC Comics mythos than what they've seen before. As such, the DC Films team decided to play it on the safe side when choosing a villain for the movie's titular hero to face off with. You see, Doctor Sivana (Mark Strong) has been a long-time nemesis to the eponymous character (Zach Levi) and as the norm with most cape movies these days, the initial outing was a much more grounded affair so as not to alienate the majority of the movie-going audience

When it comes to the highly anticipated follow-up, Sandberg himself says you better expect some surprises when it comes to the baddies. In a Q&A at DC FanDome Day 2 on Saturday, the filmmaker wouldn't flat out reveal who Shazam would be coming to blows with.

"I can't really talk about villains or villain, but I think a lot of people will be surprised," Sandberg said. "It's gonna be a little unexpected."

The popularity of Shazam! likely allowed Sandberg and his team certain liberties when scripting the sequel, reaching further into the DC library to use certain characters not being touched by any other DC films currently in development. Some might instantly gravitate towards The Rock's Black Adam appearing as the baddie, though that's yet to be confirmed. Earlier this month, Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia confirmed the two movies — Fury of the Gods and Black Adam — resided in the same universe.

"We're working closely with DC in terms of what the plan is for how everyone fits together," Garcia said earlier in the week. "It's still in the works, but obviously Shazam exists in the Black Adam universe. I can just say that we have very big ambitions for Black Adam and all of the characters that we're introducing. How they're going to connect with other characters is still all being laid out, but I think fans are going to be happy, ultimately, with the way we end up guiding it."

Included on the home media version of Shazam! was a deleted scene that teased the arrival of Black Adam, though the clip was removed from the theatrical release of the movie.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently set for release on November 4, 2022.