Shazam!

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC character Shazam. Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Studios, and Safran Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Shazam! (2019) and the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by David F. Sandberg, produced by Peter Safran and written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, it stars Zachary Levy, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zeigler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, DJ Cotrona, Grace Carolyn Curry, Megan. Good, Lucy Liu, Digimon Honsu, and Helen Mirren. In the film, Billy Batson/Shazam and his foster siblings battle the Daughters of Atlas.

Sequel to Shazam! Development began shortly after its release in April 2019, with Gayden returning as writer and Morgan soon joining to revise Gayden’s screenplay. Sandberg and Levi (Shazam) will also return by that December. The title and the rest of the returning cast were confirmed in August 2020, with Zeigler, Mirren, and Liu cast as Atlas’ daughters in early 2021. Filming began in Atlanta, Georgia that May and ended in August.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods premiered at the Fox Village Theater in Los Angeles on March 14, 2023, and was released in the United States on March 17. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who considered it inferior to its predecessor. It was also a box-office bomb, grossing $134 million worldwide against a production budget of [a] $125 million and losing Warner Bros. an estimated $150 million.

Details

Four years after the defeat of Thaddeus Sivana, [b] Hespera and Calypso, daughters of the Titan Atlas, enter the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece and steal the wizard’s broken staff. Kingdom of God, and force him to repair the staff to reactivate his powers.

In Philadelphia, Billy Batson and his “Shazamilly” rescue people on the collapsing Benjamin Franklin Bridge, but call for its destruction. As they grow up and pursue their own interests, the group drifts apart. Billy worries about being kicked out of the Vasquez family at the age of eighteen. In a dream, the wizard warns Billy about the Daughters of Atlas, prompting Shazamili to begin researching them.

Freddy Freeman, still bullied at school, falls for a new girl named Anne, to whom he reveals his superhero self. Hespera and Calypso arrive with the staff and steal Freddy’s powers, and Anne is revealed to be their younger sister, Anthea. Billy and Shazamili try to save Freddy, but the girls kidnap him and set up an indestructible dome around the town, trapping everyone inside. Freddy is imprisoned with the wizard in God’s Kingdom. The daughters reveal that they want revenge because the wizard killed their father.

Meanwhile, the Shajamils enter the Rock of Eternity, where they encounter a sentient pen named Steve, which they use to create a letter to negotiate with Hespera for Freddy’s release. Billy meets Hespera at a local restaurant, and, although the meeting is initially amicable, she and Calypso soon fight Shajamili. Pedro loses his power during the battle, while Hespera is captured and taken to the Rock. Planning his capture, Hespera easily breaks through and steals the golden apple, the seed of the tree of life. Meanwhile, Freddy and the Wizard try to escape God’s Kingdom with the help of the sympathetic Anthea, just as Hespera returns with the Apple. The daughters argue that Hespera and Anthea want to use the apple to revive their kingdom, while Calypso wants to plant it in the earth to destroy it. Freddy steals the apple but is discovered. Billy and Shazamilli show up, and Freddy regains his powers.

Billy and Shazamili appear with the Wizard at the Vasquez home, where they reveal their secret identities to their foster parents. Calypso appears with a dragon named Ladon to acquire the apple and destroy Vasquez’s house. A chase ensues across town as the family tries to get the apple away from Calypso, but everyone except Billy loses their powers in the collision. Calypso retrieves the apple and uses it to plant trees in Citizens Bank Park, which spawns various monsters to attack the city. Hespera and Anthea object to their sister’s destructive plans, but Calypso mortally wounds Hespera and incapacitates Anthea. Billy, in desperation, asks the Wizard to withdraw his powers, but the Wizard assures him that he is a true hero who deserves them.

Heeding the wizard’s words, Billy flies off to stop Calypso, while Shazamili enlists the unicorn’s help in chasing the other monsters. Billy convinces a dying Hespera to help him stop Calypso. The dome reacts violently with its lightning, Billy lures Calypso into the park while Hespera shrinks the dome to contain them. Billy overloads the staff with electricity before fighting with Calypso and Ladon, destroying the trees and Calypso’s army with them at the cost of his own life. Hespera recognizes Billy as a true god before succumbing to his wounds, causing the dome to disappear.

Anthea leads Billy’s grieving family to the Kingdom of God for his burial. Diana Prince, an Amazon princess with godly powers, appears and repairs the staff, imbuing it with her power and using it to revive the God Kingdom, restore Anthea’s powers, and resurrect Billy. Billy, in turn, uses the staff to restore his siblings’ powers. Shajamilly rebuilds their home while Anthea and Freddy begin a relationship and live on Wizard Earth.

In a mid-credits scene, Emilia Harcourt and John Economos try to recruit Billy to the Justice Society on Amanda Waller’s behalf, but leave after she calls them out for naming the same as the Justice League. In a post-credits scene, an imprisoned Shivana confronts Mr. Mind again, angry that he hasn’t started implementing their plan.

Cast and characters

Zachary Levi and Asher Angel as Billy Batson/Shazam:
An ancient sorcerer’s champion, who possessed “the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the fortitude of Atlas, the strength of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.”
Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody as Freddie Freeman:
Billy’s physically disabled foster brother, who is a fan of superheroes. Grazer portrays Freddy’s regular form, while Brody portrays his adult superhero form.
Helen Mirren as Hespera: Atlas’s eldest daughter, who has elemental powers. *
Lucy Liu as Calypso: The middle daughter of Atlas, who has the power of chaos.
Rachel Zeigler as Anthea / Ann: Atlas’ youngest daughter, who has reality manipulation powers and Freddy’s love interest.
Ross Butler and Yan Chen as Eugene Choi:
Billy’s younger foster brother who is an obsessive gamer. Butler portrays Eugene’s adult superhero form, while Chen portrays his regular form.
DJ Cotrona and Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena:
Billy’s older foster brother, who is gay, shy, and sensitive. Cotrona portrays Pedro’s adult superhero form, Armand portrays his regular form.
Grace Caroline Curry as Mary Bromfield:
Billy’s mature and academically driven older foster sister. Cario portrays Mary as the adult superhero, replacing Michelle Borth from the first film.
Megan Good and Faith Herman as Darla Dudley:
Billy’s good-natured little foster sister. Good Darler portrays the adult superhero form, while Herman portrays his regular form.
Digimon Honshu as Shazam: The last surviving member of the Wizards’ Council, who bestows his powers on Billy Batson after naming the boy as his champion.

Billy’s foster family also includes Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews Rosa and Victor Vasquez, the foster parents of Billy and his siblings. Reprising their DCEU roles in the film, Gal Gadot stars as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, alongside Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee as John Economos in the mid-credits scene, and Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus as Sivana. and director David F. Sandberg as the voice of Mr. Mind in the post-credits scene. Sandberg also cameos as a civilian who is attacked by one of Calypso’s monsters. Rizwan Manji, who played Jameel in the DCEU television series Peacemaker, appears as an unnamed person. P.J. Byrne appears briefly as Dr. Dario Bava, a pediatrician whom Billy mistakes as a therapist, while Diedrich Bader appears briefly as Mr. Geckel, a school teacher. Sandberg’s wife Lotta Losten, who previously played Dr. Lynn Crosby in the first film, cameos as a nurse who is saved by Shazam. Michael Gray, who played Billy Batson in the 1970s television series, makes a brief cameo as a man on the street, calling the transformed Billy “Captain Marvel”. Natalia Safran, wife of producer Peter Safran, cameos as the driver with the kittens. CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer makes a cameo appearance as himself.

Box Office

Shazam! Fury of the Gods grossed $57.6 million in the United States and Canada and $76.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $133.8 million. Due to its $125 million production budget, the film was labeled a box-office bomb.

Shazam in the United States and Canada! Fury of the Gods was initially projected to gross $35-40 million in its opening weekend from 4,071 theaters. The film grossed $11.7 million (including $3.4 million from Thursday night previews), lowering weekend estimates to $30 million. It debuted to $30.1 million (52.2% of the total), topping the box office but falling 44% from the first film’s opening weekend ($53.5 million) and third-worst in the DCEU (albeit with two lower films), Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman. 1984, their releases were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and appeared simultaneously on HBO Max). Sean Robbins of BoxOffice Pro called the debut “a soft start, there’s no other way to do it,” citing the recent underperformance of other comic book films. The Hollywood Reporter called the domestic opening “one of the worst starts for a major Hollywood superhero film” and lamented the film’s $35 million international opening from 78 countries (including a $4.3 million “bombing” in China). A.V. Club noted that it premiered on a weekend where other films experienced lackluster box office numbers.

In its second weekend, the film dropped 69% to $9.3 million, finishing second behind newcomer John Wick: Chapter 4 . It earned $4.6 million in its third weekend, falling to sixth place.

About

Directed by	David F. Sandberg
Written by	·         Henry Gayden ·         Chris Morgan
Based on	Characters by DC
Produced by	Peter Safran
Starring	·         Zachary Levi ·         Asher Angel ·         Jack Dylan Grazer ·         Rachel Zegler ·         Adam Brody ·         Ross Butler ·         D. J. Cotrona ·         Grace Caroline Currey ·         Meagan Good ·         Lucy Liu ·         Djimon Hounsou ·         Helen Mirren
Cinematography	Gyula Pados
Edited by	Michel Aller
Music by	Christophe Beck
Production companies	·         New Line Cinema ·         DC Studios ·         The Safran Company
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	·         March 14, 2023 (Fox Village Theatre) ·         March 17, 2023 (United States)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$110–125 million
Box office	$133.8 million

ScreenShot