In the final moments of David F. Sandberg's Shazam!, fans get what could be called a half-cameo. Superman appears in the last shot of the movie, blowing the mind of Jack Dylan Grazer's Freddy Freeman, but rather than being Henry Cavill appearing as the Man of Steel, the character is only shown from the neck down. It's a cute moment that fans should appreciate – if not especially in light of the fact that the Kryptonian is definitely not going to be making a "full" appearance in the upcoming Shazam! Fury Of The Gods.
Being an active social media user, David F. Sandberg recently addressed some fan questions about the upcoming sequel on his personal Instagram account, and one of the queries was in regard to a potential Superman cameo in Shazam 2. The original post was written in Swedish, and so the Swedish filmmaker responded in kind – though in doing so simultaneously created a puzzle for followers who don't speak the language:
If you throw "Du kommer bli så besviken når du oversetter det har" into an internet translator, the result is:
You will be so disappointed when you translate this.
If we are arguing semantics, that's technically not a denial that Henry Cavill will make an appearance as Superman in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, but it's also not exactly a challenge to register what he's really saying here. Sorry, folks: it's not happening.
For what it's worth, the upcoming Shazam 2 is already working with an excellent ensemble cast, so it's unlikely that Superman's presence will be specifically missed. In addition to returning stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Meagan Good, Grace Fulton, Michelle Borth, Ian Chen, and D.J. Cotrona, the upcoming sequel is also set to feature Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler – all three of them playing daughters of the god Atlas.
As for Henry Cavill's Superman, the future can be described as opaque. Fans just recently had the opportunity to watch the character in action a few months ago in Zack Snyder's Justice League, but at present there are no plans for him to appear in an upcoming DC Extended Universe title. Right now it appears that the Man of Tomorrow's next big screen appearance is in the hands of screenwriter Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams, and signs are pointing to the project recasting the character with a black actor.
While we continue to wait for future news about Superman, Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is moving right along. Following COVID-19 related delays, production on the sequel has begun, and Warner Bros. has scheduled it to be released on June 2, 2023.
