Although we’ll be revisiting the overall Shazam mythology later this year in Black Adam, the sequel to 2019’s Shazam!, officially titled Shazam! Fury of the Gods, is over a year away from release. But don’t that means the next Shazam! movie isn’t making steady progress. Quite the opposite, as director David F. Sandberg has shared a thrilling update about how things are coming along.
Like its predecessor, Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be a VFX-heavy affair, which comes with the territory when you’re delving into one of the magical corners of the DC universe. Well, those VFX shots, and the movie as a whole, will be the visually crispest of David F. Sandberg’s filmography, as he revealed in one of his recent Instagram posts:
Making the jump to proper 4K is a big step for David F. Sandberg, as in the past, he’s had to upscale to that visual quality. For Shazam! Fury of the Gods, he started from the jump with 4K vision in mind, and the final product will look better through that particular lens than if it was converted into 4K after the fact. With Fury of the Gods dated for summer 2023, Sandberg and his postproduction team have plenty of time to make sure that the sequel looks the best it can be.
What we initially just called Shazam! 2 was greenlit just days after Shazam! was released in April 2019, with the first movie being met with mostly positive critical reception and ending its theatrical run with $366 million in its worldwide coffers. David F. Sandberg and Henry Gayden were quickly brought back to resume their respective directing and writing duties, and the sequel’s official title was unveiled at the first DC FanDome. Shazam! Fury of the Gods finally commenced principal photography in late May 2021 and wrapped up at the end of August.
Although Shazam!’s mid-credits scene teased an alliance between Mark Strong’s Dr. Sivana and the super-intelligent caterpillar known as Mister Mind, Strong told CinemaBlend that he will not appear in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Instead, the sequel will see Billy Batson and the rest of the Shazam Family crossing paths with three daughters of Atlas, one of the legendary figures from whom they draw their powers. Helen Mirren’s Hespera and Lucy Liu’s Kalypso look like they’ll fill the main antagonist roles, but it remains to be seen where the allegiances of Rachel Zegler’s unnamed character lie.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will work its magic in theaters on June 2, 2023, so until then, keep checking back with CinemaBlend for updates on how it’s coming along. It is the second of the upcoming DC movies slated for next year, with Blue Beetle (which has shifted from an HBO Max exclusive to a theatrical release) following on August 18.
