Shazam! Fury of the Gods is all set to release in March 2023 along with three other DCU movies. As the sequel to Shazam!, the movie will see Zachary Levi reprising his role as the superhero Billy Batson. Since the first movie was so well received by fans and critics alike, receiving a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score, it was only a matter of time before the sequel was announced.
Now, just a few months before the release of the sequel, new updates have taken the fans’ excitement to an all-new level. According to Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ director, the sequel will involve completely original main villains which haven’t come from the DC comics. Looks like the sequel is ready to make its own name!
New Villains in Shazam! Fury of the Gods
In an interview with the Empire magazine, Shazam! Fury of the Gods director, David F. Sandberg gave a pretty interesting insight into where he got the idea for the antagonists of the sequel. Sandberg stated that rather than relying on comic books to look for villains, he wanted to explore more places, for once. The sequel is taking inspiration from Greek mythology and thus, some characters are inspired by it. This also includes the film’s villains. He stated that he got this idea from the fact that Shazam gets his powers from the Greek gods.
“We landed there because Shazam’s powers come from Greek gods. So what if those powers were stolen from the gods and now they want revenge?”
Sounds like Sandberg has quite an interesting plot up his sleeve. The director also revealed a few other characters who will be seen in the upcoming Shazam! sequel, including a dragon that is “made from wood and emanates a fear effect.” A dragon made of wood? Who wouldn’t be frightened of that? In the interview, Sandberg confessed that he found it “really cool” to dive into Greek mythology and not the comic books for his movie. We can only wait and see how his vision is brought to life on the big screens!
Who Are the New Greek Mythology-Inspired Villains?
The new, original villains, who will be making their entry into the DCU through the sequel of Shazam! will include the three Daughters of Atlas, AKA Hespera played by Helen Mirren, Kalypso played by Lucy Liu and Anthea played by Rachel Zegler. While no one knows how the story will unfold and what Shazam’s face-off with the three goddesses will look like, one thing is for sure; it’s not going to be easy for him.
The villain of the first movie, Dr. Sivana played by Mark Strong, will not be returning for the sequel. However, he stated that he was happy to give way to the new female antagonists as he thinks they will make fantastic villains. He cited Emma Thompson and Emma Stone in Cruella, stating that it was time for female villains to rule.
The mythological sisters are looking to take back what’s theirs. According to Hespera in the trailer, she and her sisters aren’t quite happy with the fact that the powers of gods were stolen. Since the Daughters of Atlas apparently wanted to inherit the powers themselves, the motive behind them waging war on the Atlas family becomes clear. The trailer shows them summoning various monsters for their aid, making it clear that they didn’t come to play. They plan to stop only after they’ve taken what was supposed to be theirs. We’ll have to wait and see how Shazam tackles this mess!
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will release in theatres on March 17, 2023.
Source: Empire
