Among the DCEU’s many exciting pursuits is the sequel of 2019’s Shazam!, which is currently filming in preparation for its 2023 release. The movie will once again follow Billy Batson and his adult superhero alter ego alongside fan-favorite Freddy Freeman, played by Jack Dylan Grazer. The actor, also known for his role in IT, is now 17 years old and recently gave us an update on what it's like to return to the role for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Obviously starring in a DCEU movie means there’s a lot of secrets for Jack Dylan Grazer to keep ahead of reprising his role as Freddy Freeman three years later. When CinemaBlend caught up with the actor for his voice role in Pixar’s Luca, I asked him how it feels to return to the comic book franchise. As he said:
It’s so much fun [to come back to play Freddy]. When I walked out of the premiere for the first [Shazam!] at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater I was like ‘Ahhh, I wanna play Freddy again so bad.’ I can do it so much better this time. I swear to God, I can do it way better. And now this is like my shot at redemption – and I think I did good in the first one, but playing Freddy is so much fun and funny. He’s a blast and I love him.
Jack Dylan Grazer is being hard on himself – he was perfect as the awed-out kid and superhero superfan who watched as his friend Billy Batson became a buffed-up superhero… and then became one himself through Adam Brody’s spot on performance. When he left the premiere of Shazam! in Los Angeles back in 2019, he couldn’t wait for the chance to return to the role and now that he has it, he’s having the time of his life.
Grazer really loves playing Freddy Freeman and he wants to do right by the character moving forward with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. It sounds like the actor will be giving the role his all for the sequel, and as fans of the character in the first movie, we certainly hope Freddy steals the show even more than he did for the 2019 film when the actor was just 14 years old.
While we learned exclusively from Mark Strong that Dr. Sivana will not be part of the sequel, despite the tease at the end of the movie, Fury of the Gods will feature Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren as villains and the addition of West Side Story newcomer Rachel Zegler. Director David F. Sandberg recently showed off the first footage from the sequel:
That’s right. Zachary Levi is wearing a new suit for Fury of the Gods and the DCEU sequel is that much closer to entering into our eyeballs. In the meantime, Jack Dylan Grazer has just become a Pixar star with his role as Alberto in Luca coming to Disney+ on Friday, June 18.
