Warner Bros. and New Line Cinemas released the first footage from the DC Extended Universe sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and it's all about family. The new footage was revealed during CinemaCon 2022 and offers a new look at the upcoming sequel to 2019's Shazam!. As reported by Germain Lussier, the footage sees Billy Batson referencing Fast & Furious to the villain Hespera, played by Helen Mirren. Billy tells the demi-god that he knows "saving the world is about family," which leads to the appearance of the Shazam Family.
Despite the new footage, it was recently reported that Fury of the Gods would be undergoing reshoots during the months of April and May 2022. However, the reshoots are reportedly so Sandberg can have the time to "touch up some stuff" ahead of the film's release in December. In March 2022, despite Warner Bros. pushing the release dates of many DCEU projects back by months, it was announced that the release for Shazam! Fury of the Gods would actually be moved up. Despite several production delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, instead of its original June 2023 release, the sequel will premiere in theaters in December, just in time for the holiday season.
Sandberg has pointed out the irony of Fury of the Gods' new release date, comparing it to the release of the first Shazam! in 2019. "It's funny how Shazam 1 was a Christmas movie released in April and Shazam 2 is a summer movie getting released at Christmas," the director said. "It's the Shazam way."
Although the film will undergo some small reshoots, star Zachary Levi has stated that the increased budget, timeframe and returning cast have allowed the sequel to 2019's Shazam! to become bigger and better than its predecessor. "I will say that I genuinely — and this is not just lip service — I'm really proud of the first one, I think we made a really, really good movie," Levi said in a December 2021 interview. "I think the second one is better. I think that we had more time, we had more budget. 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."
In June 2021, Sandberg revealed an image of the full Shazam Family in new costumes, including Shazam's new look, which includes the hero's trademark red, though it is more textured than the one seen in the original film, with an updated belt, a gold lightning bolt on the chest, bracers and accents. Along with the returning cast, Fury of the Gods will also welcome new villains, including Mirran as the demi-god Hespera and Lucy Liu as Kalypso, Hespera's sister. Rachel Zegler is also reported to appear in a mystery role, as the third sister of both Mirren and Liu's characters.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will release on Dec. 16, 2022.
Source: Twitter