It’s only been four days since Shazam! opened (including Thursday preview screenings), but it’s has been doing quite well for itself in that short amount of time. Along with earning a lot of positive reviews, the latest DC Extended Universe movie has also collected nearly $160 million so far. With a performance like that, it seems like a logical assumption that Warner Bros will move forward with Shazam! 2, and sure enough, word’s come in that the project has been given the green light, with Shazam! screenwriter returning to pen the sequel.
Henry Gayden, whose writing credits also include Earth to Echo and the upcoming Last Human, will reportedly be back to write Shazam! 2, which makes sense given Shazam!’s critical and commercial reception. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Wrap’s report also notes that director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran are also expected to return, although their involvement isn’t quite nailed down yet. If as much of the Shazam! creative minds can band together again for Shazam! 2, then the better chance this next movie has at succeeding, if not being outright better than its predecessor.
If you pay attention to DC movie news, you know that this franchise has a lot of projects in development, some of which were announced years ago and have barely made any progress. For Shazam! 2 to already have secured a writer when the first movie has only just come out is a big deal, although as Peter Safran recently acknowledged, this sequel requires a quicker turnaround. Because most of the movie’s main cast are adolescents, the filmmakers need to get Shazam! 2 out sooner rather than later to ensure that the kids don’t look too much older.
Even with that in mind, it’s hard to say when Shazam! 2 will come out. Even if Henry Gayden churns out his Shazam! 2 script rather quickly, it’s unlikely that the movie could be ready in time for late next year, following Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984. The Batman and The Suicide Squad already have summer 2021 covered, so maybe Shazam! 2 could be ready to go by fall or winter of that year, thus finally giving fans three DCEU movies in a year. We’ll have to wait and see, but Warner Bros is clearly on board for keeping the Shazam! corner of this franchise going.
I won’t include any spoilers here, but Shazam! definitely lays the groundwork for what we can expect in Shazam! 2, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of specific story Henry Gayden crafts. One can also imagine that Shazam!’s success means that the Black Adam movie stands a better chance of finally happening, especially with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson having been set to play Kahndaqian anti-hero for years. But when will we actually see Shazam and Black Adam thrown down in fisticuffs? That’s likely an event years down the line, but keep checking back for updates.
You can see Shazam! in theaters now, and be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie. Don’t forget to also look through our DC movies guide to learn what else the DCEU has coming down the pipeline.
