Shazam! Fury of the Godsdirector David F. Sandberg has tacked fan anxiety around the character’s future and Zachary Levi’s role in the DCU.
Questions aboutShazam!started due to the DC shake-up with the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the ascension of new CEO David Zaslav, and the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as leaders of the DCU. These events led to a swath of cancelations, reworkings, and an eventual overhaul of the DCU that saw major stars depart and many projects scrapped despite heavy investment into them, such astheBatgirlfilm being cancelled by WB, even though the film had already entered post-production.
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As such, fans have been increasingly skeptical about their favorite projects escaping the chopping block. OneShazam!fan took to Twitter to lay his complaints to director David F. Sandberg. Replying directly to the tweet, which decried the uncertainty around the DCU killing interest and asked if the character had a future under Gunn and Safran, Sandberg laid out what he knows about Shazam’s future. “He definitely won’t if people don’t go see the movie," Sandberg said. “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.”
While the statement carries hope, there’s still a hint of uncertainty in the tone that could indicate that Sandberg isn’t as confident as his leading man.Shazam! actor Zachary Levy defended Gunn’s reboot, but whether or not Sandberg supports the reboot, he’s right not to make any overt promises. Gunn and Safran took their current posts after a long period in which it seemed no one wanted the job as WB’s DCEU head and immediately went to work re-ordering it to much fan backlash.
While they certainly have interesting ideas and fans have softened to their plans for the future, there can be no doubt that their actions in conjunction with Zaslav’s cancellation streak after the company merger have left fans with trust issues regarding the company’s future and that of their favorite stars and characters, including Shazam.How the DCU bosses plan to fix thisso that the feeling doesn’t stick to their new universe remains to be seen.
Shazam! Fury of the Godswill be released in theatres on 15 June 2025.
