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The DC Extended Universe has had a unique life, full of peaks and valleys. After a rocky start, Warner Bros. seemed hit its stride with director-driven blockbusters like Aquaman and Shazam! The latter project was helmed by David F. Sandberg, and featured a brief cameo for Superman. Henry Cavill himself was noticeably absent, but it turns out he was originally supposed to appear in the origin story.
Shazam! is set in the DCEU, but it didn't feature any major crossover moments. The blockbuster's fun coda saw Superman visiting Freddy and Shazam at school, although we only saw the Man of Steel from the chest down. This was obviously done since Henry Cavill didn't film, although David F. Sandberg recently revealed that he was indeed hoping to get the star in the role. As the filmmaker put it,
FOMO alert. It looks like Superman's brief appearance in Shazam! was originally meant to include Henry Cavill in the role, even halfway through filming the DCEU blockbuster. Unfortunately it fell through, and David F. Sandberg had to find a creative solution to include that much discussed sequence.
David F. Sandberg's comments come from his personal Twitter. The filmmaker regularly uses social media to directly communicate with the fans, whether it be answering questions, shooting down rumors, or simply poking fun at anticipation for Shazam!'s sequel. This time he revealed some mind-blowing information that has long been questioned questioned: Henry Cavill was originally supposed to film his cameo.
The DCEU, including Shazam!, is currently available to re-watch on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
While the filmmaker didn't offer a reason for Henry Cavill dropping out of Shazam!, it does give new context to the movie's final sequence. The scene is a great ending to the movie, but the elephant in the room (or cafeteria) is definitely the lack of Cavill. Perhaps there was another mustache-related incident that stopped this collaboration. As a reminder, you can see the scene below.
Despite Henry Cavill's absence, Shazam!'s ending seemingly confirmed that Zachary Levi's character met the Man of Steel. We didn't get to see this first crossover, but hopefully we'll be able to see these mega powerful heroes on the big screen together sometime in the future. It's unclear if Warner Bros. has any plans to give the Justice League franchise another try, so exactly when this pairing might happen is a mystery.
Regardless, there are some very exciting things coming up for Shazam in the DCEU. The first of these is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which will be the first sequel in the franchise. Additionally, fans are awaiting the hero's eventual conflict with Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam. Only time will tell exactly when their inevitable battle will begin.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently expected to arrive in theaters on June 2, 2023. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.
