Shazam! Fury of the Gods Director Pokes Fun at Recent DC Studios Rumors
The future of the DC Universe has been debated about at length in recent days, amid rumors and speculation about what projects may or may not come to fruition under the tenure of DC Studios' James Gunn and Peter Safran. Part of the speculation began earlier this week, when The Hollywood Reporter alleged that certain projects might be scrapped — and certain actors might be recast — in the franchise going forward. David F. Sandberg, who will be directing the franchise's next entry with Shazam! Fury of the Gods, took to Twitter on Friday night to poke fun at all of the drama.
After joking that he couldn't find any news updates about DC Films on Google, Sandberg subsequently replied to fans asking if Shazam! star Zachary Levi will be recast as Clayface, playing off of the theories that Jason Momoa could be playing Lobo instead of Aquaman in future movies. He also joked that Fury of the Gods newcomer Rachel Zegler will be playing every "key role" in the entire franchise going forward.
I wish there were more articles and discussions about my favorite subject, DC films.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) December 10, 2022
Would be fun to hear about rumors, speculations, etc. pic.twitter.com/4jhAFhG4ZB
Well now that Asher is older than him we had to find him something else to do.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) December 10, 2022
Only key roles
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) December 10, 2022
Will the DC Universe reboot?
In a thread on social media earlier this week, Gunn promised that some of the rumors surrounding his and Safran's plans for DC Studios are not factually accurate,
"Peter & I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told & in the audience itself & there would be an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation, and gaming. But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities & the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not. We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY & in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives. As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters & the stories the time & attention they deserve & we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask & answer."
What is Shazam! 2 about?
In Shazam! Fury of the Gods, when Billy Batson and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying "Shazam!", are forced to get back into action and fight the Daughters of Atlas, they must stop them from using a weapon that could destroy the world in which they must travel in order to make peace with the Gods because of Billy taking their powers for granted.
The film stars Asher Angel and Zachary Levi as Billy Batson / Shazam!, Grace Caroline Currey 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.
Are you excited for Shazam! Fury of the Gods? 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.