Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg explains why the upcoming DC Universe movie draws inspiration from Greek mythology rather than the comic books.
In an interview with Empire, Sandberg explained that while the first Shazam! movie did well both critically and commercially, he still had ideas he wanted to explore. He decided that for the sequel, he'd create characters that were inspired by Greek mythology, among them being the film's villains, the Daughters of Atlas.
"We landed there because Shazam's powers come from Greek gods," he said. "So what if those powers were stolen from the gods and now they want revenge?" Sandberg concluded by teasing what other characters will appear in the movie, such as a dragon he described as being "sort of made of wood and [having the ability to emanate] a fear effect." He added, "It was really cool diving into mythology, rather than comic books."
Fury of the Gods will see the World's Mightiest Mortal go up against the Daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso, played by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, respectively. It will not see the return of the previous movie's villain Dr. Sivana. Despite this, Sivana's actor Mark Strong gave Mirren and Liu his blessing last year, noting, "I've had to sort of bite my tongue for so long [about not being in the film]... 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 also speculated that Sivana and Mister Mind will be back at some point in the future.
Additionally, while it hasn't been released yet, the film itself received praise from leading man Zachary Levi, who said that it's better than its predecessor, though he's still proud of the latter. "I think that we had more time, we had more budget," continued Levi. "We had, essentially, the entire cast returning, and we all knew our characters a little bit more; we could kind of sit into them a little bit more." During this, Levi also sang the praises of Mirren and Liu much as Strong had done.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently set to arrive in theaters on March 17, 2023.
Source: Empire