Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Shazam! Fury of the Gods!
Shazam! Fury of the Gods arrives amidst a change in the DC Universe's future, but Shazam 2's ending still delivers big surprises and sets up a possible future for the franchise. The sequel to Shazam! comes four years after the original movie was released in theaters. The story picks up two years after Shazam and the Shazam family defeated Doctor Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins. They are now known as the protectors of Philadelphia. Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is trying to keep the kids together instead of letting everyone, himself included, grow up as needed. They quickly find themselves faced with the Daughters of Atlas, who could destroy Earth.
The main focus of Shazam! Fury of the Gods is based around Shazam (Zachary Levi) after Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren) steal the magic staff. They originally wanted the staff to find the Seed of Life and restore their god realm to how it was before the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) put a barrier around it. However, Kalypso then proposes that they use it to make Earth their new home, which Anthea (Rachel Zegler) and Hespera do not agree with. After turning on them and depowering Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mary (Grace Currey), and others, Shazam 2's ending revolves around Shazam and Kalypso fighting for the fate of Earth.
What Happens At The End Of Shazam 2
Shazam! Fury of the Gods' ending takes place entirely in the city of Philadelphia, with Citizen Bank Park - the home stadium for the Phillies - the primary location. Once Kalypso the Daughter of Atlas planted the Seed of Life in the stadium, the Tree of Life grew and its roots spread across the city. Since it was not meant to grow in Earth's soil, the Tree of Life and everything it creates become distorted. This includes spawning an army of mythical creatures that follow Kalypso's command to terrorize the city. Despite not having any powers, Billy's foster siblings and the Wizard use unicorns to battle the army.
While the siblings are busy fighting the CGI monster army, Shazam finds Hespera and convinces her to help him fight her sister. The former Shazam 2 villain shrinks the magical barrier previously put up over Philadelphia until it just surrounds Citizen Bank Park after Shazam steals the staff and lures Kalypso there. The plan is to fight Kalypso and her dragon by supercharging the magic staff with his Shazam lightning powers. The idea is to keep adding power to the staff to turn it into a bomb, which would kill everything inside the barrier. Billy tells his family before doing it that he's willing to die to keep them safe.
After taking some time to charge the staff and delivering a few supercharged punches on Kalypso's dragon, Shazam! Fury of the Gods ends with Shazam flying into the dragon's chest and yelling "Shazam" to transform. The lightning bolt strikes the magic staff and creates a massive explosion that kills Kalypso and her dragon. Her death meant the disappearance of her creature army, while Hespera then passes away for good after seeing the plan work. Shazam 2's ending then shows Freddy finding Billy dead. Shazam's family and the kids soon arrive and begin mourning Billy Batson's death, but the Wizard suggests a burial worthy of a god is in order.
Wonder Woman Resurrects Shazam - Is This Gal Gadot's Last DC Appearance?
Billy Batson does not stay dead in Shazam! Fury of the Gods' ending, as Wonder Woman shows up at the funeral and helps resurrect Shazam. After a headless cameo by Diana Prince earlier in the movie, Gal Gadot returns as Wonder Woman in full for the scene. She takes the magic staff and slams it into the ground, and Wonder Woman's connections to DC's gods help give the staff its powers again. The return of the staff's magic means Shazam is resurrected instantly. He thanks Wonder Woman for doing this and attempts to flirt with his superhero crush, but she is not interested as she leaves the family.
Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman cameo in Shazam 2 could be her last DC appearance. This certainly was not the plan when the scene was originally filmed, but DC Studios' changes have made this a possibility. Warner Bros. and DC Studios canceled Wonder Woman 3 with director Patty Jenkins. Gal Gadot was meant to return to complete her solo trilogy. While Wonder Woman is confirmed to be part of James Gunn's plan for the DC Universe, Gal Gadot is not officially returning. That decision appears to be coming in the future, but Gunn's decision to recast Superman and Batman does not inspire confidence in Gal Gadot sticking around as Wonder Woman.
The Wizard Lives And Goes On A New Adventure - Where?
Shazam 2's ending does include a surprise as the Wizard lives, despite Shazam's return from the dead. The 2023 DC movie previously explained that he could not remain in this realm after he passed on his powers in the first movie. Even though Billy Batson has his powers again, the Wizard returns in the final scene of Shazam! Fury of the Gods with a new, clean look. It confirmed that he has survived and will still be around should Shazam's adventures continue. The scene even includes Wizard officially giving Billy his Shazam superhero name, but he also plans to take the magic staff back and go on a new adventure.
There is no clear indication of what Wizard's future holds after this ambiguous Shazam! Fury of the Gods ending scene. The changes taking place in the DC Universe make it even more difficult to determine what could happen in the future. It is possible that the Wizard's original plan was to meet Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) again after this tease. Since Black Adam still harnesses the power of Shazam and is set to rule Kahndaq, Wizard could pay him a visit to try and undo one of his past mistakes.
Everybody Who Has Powers At The End Of Shazam 2
A good portion of Shazam! Fury of the Gods' ending deals with characters losing their powers, but most of them have their powers restored in the end. Billy Batson's resurrection allows his Shazam powers to return. It is also suggested that all the siblings are getting their powers back. Billy mentions wanting to spread the power again after he is revived. Meanwhile, Victor Vasquez (Cooper Andrews) thanks the kids in the end for not transforming inside the house that they are rebuilding. This should mean that the entire Shazam Family is fully powered once again by Shazam 2's ending.
Additionally, the return of power to the magic staff and the breath of new life in the god realm allowed Anthea's powers to return. She lost her powers after Kalypso struck her with the magic staff, turning her into a human. Shazam! Fury of the Gods shows her hands begin to glow after Wonder Woman restores power to the staff, with the axis power symbols on her hands also returning. It indicates that she could still have a role to play in the franchise, should it continue, especially as she's decided to spend some time on Earth to stay with Freddy.
Shazam 2's Post-Credits Scenes Set Up Shazam 3 & Justice Society
There are two Shazam! Fury of the Gods post-credits scenes that play big roles in setting up his future. The first comes during the mid-credits as The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker characters Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) appear. They have been sent on a mission by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to recruit a new member to their team, and this leads them to meet Shazam. They offer him a position on their squad, which Billy accepts mid-sentence, only for him to realize he's agreed to be part of the Justice Society instead of the Justice League.
Shazam's recruitment to the Justice Society in Shazam 2's mid-credits scene directly connects the movie to Black Adam. The DC movie featured the Justice Society with Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) as part of the team. Although it was implied before, Shazam! Fury of the Gods confirms that Amanda Waller is in charge of the Justice Society and that it is a different team than the Justice League. The scene indicates that Shazam's DC movie future was intended to include joining the Justice Society, potentially as a way to set up him and Black Adam fighting, possibly in Shazam 3.
Shazam 2's post-credits scene then marks the return of Doctor Sivana and the evil caterpillar Mr. Mind. The two DC villains were last seen in Shazam!'s post-credits scene, and their reunion here happens after two years in-universe. The scene jokes about the long wait to learn what Mr. Mind's plan is, but it also continues the teases by having him leave before revealing it. Instead, the sinister worm leaves Sivana's prison so he can begin the next step in his plan. It is possible that Sivana and Mr. Mind's team-up is imagined for the main plot of Shazam 3.
Will Shazam Move Over To James Gunn's DC Universe?
The teases for Shazam's movie future are not guaranteed to happen, as it is not confirmed that he will move over to James Gunn's DC Universe. While parts of the old DC Extended Universe will remain after The Flash resets the timeline, it is unclear if Zachary Levi's Shazam and the adjacent characters will be parts that are kept. Shazam! Fury of the Gods appears to take place in a pre-The Flash reset universe. That does not prevent Gunn and Peter Safran from bringing the characters back as part of the DC Universe, but it does signal that not everything set up in the franchise to this point would remain.
The fate of Zachary Levi's Shazam will be determined by how the sequel is received instead of what Shazam 2's ending sets up. The movie does appear to have an uphill battle ahead, as reviews have been more mixed than the first film and the DC movie's box office projections are quite poor. These are signs that could push Gunn and Safran to elect to leave Shazam out of the DC Universe, just like they did with The Rock's Black Adam and others. Unless something drastically changes, Shazam! Fury of the Gods' ending could be the last time audiences see these versions of these characters.
