The much-awaited Shazam!: Fury of the Gods directed by David Sandberg has released worldwide on March 17th. The film along with its first installment involves the storyline of DC superhero Shazam, are stand-alone movies that are not part of the DCU. While Shazam enjoyed good box office success, especially amongst young adults owing to its lighthearted humor and action, Shazam 2 seems to have had an underwhelming opening over the weekend. A lot of theories floating around indicate that the reasons for this may not have to do with audience reactions alone.
Shazam 2 has been delayed multiple times.
It is common knowledge that the release of Shazam 2 has been indefinitely postponed and delayed several times over the past year. Originally set for release on April 1, 2022, the film got pushed to November 4, 2022, and then to June 2, 2023. With still no confirmed date, It was moved up to December 16, 2022, as it was ready for release sooner than other DC films delayed by the pandemic. Despite its completion, the film was yet again moved to be screened, this time in March 2023. With these schedule changes, there has been a lot of buzz about certain forces that have intentionally delayed the film.
Is Shazam 2’s postponement intentional?
With so many changes in the release date of Shazam 2, DC fans began to speculate on ulterior motives that could have been the factors for the delay. To begin with, director James Gunn took over as DC Head in November 2022 and initiated a complete reboot of the franchise. This included the shocking exit of Henry Cavill as Superman and the announcement of a new lineup of DC movies like Superman: Legacy and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
As a result, films like Shazam 2 were rumored to have been intentionally postponed by Warner Brothers and DC. This allegedly involved cutting the marketing costs of the film and moving it from the holiday season in December to March, where the film had to share space with big releases like Creed 3, and John Wick Chapter 4. Director David Sandberg has also alluded to this as the reason for Shazam 2 receiving lukewarm responses over the opening weekend. He said,
“It’s not like this comes as a surprise. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I’ll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront.”
Despite the director not sounding too perturbed, fans expressed their sympathy to him for being collateral damage in this battle for DC supremacy.
Is there a place for Shazam in the DCU?
After James Gunn’s complete overhaul of the DC franchise and the ousting of some important superheroes, there is speculation about the future of characters like Shazam and his role in extending the DCU. David Sandberg took to social media to talk about the possibilities of Shazam’s inclusion saying,
“What I’ve been told is that there’s nothing in the Shazam films that contradict the future plans for DC. So the possibility for more Shazam is there and if that’s what you want your best bet is to go see the film.”
But this comment may stand true if Shazam 2 works at the box office. With James Gunn and the DC, team chalked out a clear goal for the future, it remains to be seen if Shazam is part of that goal.
Source: Twitter
