There’s a bunch of cool things about Shazam! that you guys have yet to discover and I’m excited to dissect it for you in the following slideshow. Hit next as I reveal almost everything about my Heroic mission to the Shazam! set. The Story of Shazam! Justice League being a critical and financial failure didn’t alter Shazam! in any way and Sandberg doesn’t pay too much attention to the criticism of other DC films. Shazam! may not have called on Zegler’s musical talent yet, but her next two projects surely will. Due out in November is The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, in which her character Lucy Gray Baird wins the heart of Panem when she sings during the reaping ceremony. “It’s the most natural musical moment I’ve ever had”, Zegler recalls. “The main lyric is ‘ nothing you can take was ever worth keeping’. She’s staring down the barrel of all these news cameras. It’s just an amazing, defiant song.” What’s really refreshing is that they seem to have cut down the overall muscle padding, particularly in the shoulders. While all big screen superheroes have enhanced musculature these days, the padding in the previous suit was downright disproportionate in places, and that seems to have been fixed here. Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’. CREDIT: 20th Century Studios/Alamy

Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (March 23, 2021). " 'Shazam!' Sequel Enlists Helen Mirren as Villain". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021 . Retrieved March 24, 2021. Could there be more Shazam! in Zegler’s future? Although DC is currently on its way to a soft reboot with James Gunn at the helm, Sandberg recently tweeted that “there’s nothing in the Shazam! films that contradicts the future plans for DC.” And Levi already has some sequel ideas in mind. “I think it’d be cool to do this zombie plot that Zach is obsessed with”, says Zegler. “It’s Evil Dead meets Superman meets Big, which doesn’t sound like it should work, but I think it might.” Shazam! Fury of the Gods | Official Trailer 2". Comics2Film. January 26, 2023. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023 . Retrieved January 27, 2023. Saving earth from a new titanic threat will be even harder when Shazam's adoptive family are stripped of their powers, too. And it seems that the staff, which was wielded by Hounsou's wizard in the first movie, is the key to giving and taking those abilities away. Roeper, Richard (March 16, 2023). " 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods': Sequel subjects the superhero, once fresh, to a generic showdown". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved March 25, 2023.I wanted to incorporate a little bit of everything [into the movie], not just the New 52, but the older stuff as well... The suit is one part of that where it's like, 'Yeah, I want the shorter cape of like the Golden Age comics.' But then, 'Let's try the hood from the New 52.' And little things like that, and trying to balance it. The boots don’t look like a drastic departure from the earlier version in terms of size and shape, but they have definitely tightened up that “sandals” look they had before into something a little more traditionally “boot-like.” While I always appreciated the “gladiator” look they were going for with that before, it was never really one of my favorite features of the costume and it always felt a little awkward. The Lightning bolt on Shazam’s chest is a practical effect that lights up without any VFX. His shoes and gauntlets also light up.

In present day, Billy Batson is moving from foster home to foster home because he’s convinced that his real family is still out there. He’s very rambunctious while the kids in the group home are trying to treat him like he’s family. Sivana’s costume is the representation of him as a person. He’s wealthy and feels better than everyone else. Billy creates the Shazam costume with his imagination of what a superhero is so Sivana’s costume is what he believes true evil is.

Thankfully, Shazam! Fury of the Gods' official trailer confirms that Shazam's lightning bolt will glow. However, given the sleeker look of the costumes this time around, it appears that the illumination effect has been added in post. Regardless of how it's been implemented, we're just glad it's a feature that's been retained. The big question now is whether or not there’s an in-story reason for the change in look. Presumably, Billy Batson’s look is influenced by his subconscious ideal of what a superhero should look like, which explains things like the brighter red, the bigger logo, and perhaps even the outsized muscles in the first film. But with Billy a couple of years further into his teens for Shazam 2, perhaps those ideas have “matured” a little, too.

Travis, Emlyn (March 11, 2023). " Shazam! director reacts to new ad's huge DCU cameo spoiler: 'Maybe don't be online or watch TV' ". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023 . Retrieved March 12, 2023.Shazam! Fury of the Gods was released on premium video-on-demand services on April 7, 2023, [61] ten days earlier than its scheduled April 17 release date. [62] It was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on May 23, 2023. [63] It began streaming on Max on the same day, becoming one of the launch titles of the rebranded service. [64] Reception [ edit ] Box office [ edit ] In Ancient Greece, gold was a metal that was precious to the gods, to the extent that they were dressed in gold,” Butler continues. “The color and luster of the gold continues to be associated with the sun and the sacred masculine. The approach to costume is also borne from organic elements, and will feel sacred and true as opposed to machine like, severe, or manufactured. This design will be approached with these basics is in mind.” Rachel Zegler as Anthea / Anne: The youngest daughter of Atlas, who has reality manipulation abilities, and Freddy's love interest. [10] Tilly, Chris (April 7, 2023). "How to watch Shazam 2 – is it streaming?". Dexerto . Retrieved April 7, 2023.

Egan, Toussaint (March 21, 2023). "When will Shazam! Fury of the Gods come to HBO Max?". Polygon . Retrieved April 7, 2023. At last, we arrive at the boots. The part of every superhero costume that wardrobe creators must make comfortable, durable, and immaculate... before spending most of the time cut out of the frame. Still, Butler's team had their work cut out for them, creating a golden boot that looked more classical than science fiction. In the end, it seems that the boots we saw on set--the same ones being worn in the first official Shazam! photo, from the first days on set--were ultimately changed. The panels of red fabric were replaced by a solid gold, but from the sound of it, Butler's team never stopped trying to master the design. Shazam! uses real DC toys and merchandise. Sandberg couldn’t use certain toys because the characters weren’t in the DC Extended Universe yet. We wanted to have some practical lighting on the face, because he is going to be lit up during the movie,” Butler says. “The director and the DP really wanted to do some shadows and see some actual, practical light… It’s a very thin lighting element that is adjustable. We’re able to adjust the temperature of the light and how visual it is while we’re shooting.” Lussier, Germain (January 31, 2023). "James Gunn DC Slate Q&A: Flash, Aquaman, Crossover, More". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023 . Retrieved February 1, 2023.

Butler and Cervantes point out that even getting Levi in and out of the suit was a challenge early on. By late in the production, he could be in the suit in about three minutes, which is quite the improvement over the near hour it initially took. Anderson, Jenna (September 5, 2022). "Shazam! 2 Director Reveals Why Mr. Mind Was Cut From Sequel". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2022 . Retrieved September 7, 2022. The lightning bolt logo is the first thing I’ll call a genuine upgrade. Slightly smaller than the previous costume, and slightly more angular, it feels more dynamic and, well, lightning-like. It seems like it still contains the practical “light up” element of the earlier suit, but it’s less obvious when not in use.