Shazam Family member Pedro Peña has been confirmed to be gay in Shazam! Fury of the Gods by the upcoming DC movie's co-writer, Henry Gayden.
Pedro's sexual orientation was discussed by Gayden -- who also wrote the first Shazam! movie -- in an interview he gave to Dorkaholics alongside his collaborator for the sequel, Chris Morgan. "The only new addition for [Fury of the Gods] is being a lot more forthright about Pedro being gay," Gayden commented. "And that was hinted at in the first movie very subtly. And I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that and bringing that to the fore in this movie."
This isn't the first time Pedro has been fleshed out as a character, as descriptions for the World's Mightiest Family had previously revealed new tidbits about him, stating that he's had self-confidence problems for a while and has gained "a newfound interest in baseball." Other descriptions for the rest of the Shazam Family include facts like Billy Batson dealing with worthiness issues regarding his responsibilities as the eponymous Big Red Cheese and Freddy Freeman having feelings for a new girl at school. A subsequent clip revealed that said new girl is Anthea, one of Fury of the Gods' villains, the Daughters of Atlas.
Besides individual details about the members, returning director David F. Sandberg talked about the Shazam Family as whole in 2022 and their incompetence at being superheroes. "They've all been superheroes for a while now, trying to stop crime and save people. But they're not very good at it. The city [of Philadelphia] has dubbed them the Philly Fiascos," Sandberg remarked at the time.
What's Next for Shazam?
As for the franchise itself, Billy Batson actor Asher Angel expressed interest in Shazam being fully integrated into the DC Universe by DC Studios co-head and filmmaker James Gunn. Angel previously met Gunn on the stages for Gunn's debut DC film, The Suicide Squad. "I met with [Gunn] and he's just a super nice, genuine, humble guy," Angel explained. "Super passionate. Obviously, he's super freaking talented, but for him to team up with Peter Safran, who I think is so incredibly gifted at what he does is, it's a dream team. To pair the two it totally makes sense. It was bound to happen. Hopefully I [Billy Batson/Shazam] get to integrate with other characters, but who knows?" As of now, however, no other Shazam projects following Fury of the Gods have been announced. There are also no current plans for Dwayne Johnson to reprise his role as Shazam's arch-nemesis, Black Adam.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods opens in theaters on March 17.
Source: Dorkaholics