Shazam 2 director David F. Sandberg confirms that a production delay is likely. Over the last month, studios have been announcing delayed production on films and television series one after another, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has, in effect, led to the unprecedented shutdown of whole industries on a massive scale, and the entertainment industry is no exception. Movie theaters, conventions, and even Disney Parks have been closed down indefinitely.

Production on highly-anticipated movies such as Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and The Batman have come to a screeching halt. The coronavirus outbreak has also delayed the release of films including No Time to Die, Mulan, and Wonder Woman 1984. It was also just announced that the show Empire will be ending without a series finale.

Related: Coronavirus: Every Movie Delayed So Far

Sandberg spoke to ComicBook about Shazam 2 and its current planned release date of April 2022. Sandberg and his creative partners are currently in the pre-production stage, working on the sequel's script. Sandberg shares, "Well, we'll see how long this goes, because I mean, we were going to start shooting this year."

Zachary Levi as Shazam with David Sandberg

Sandberg continues, "But, I mean, who knows how long this will go on? I mean, it feels like every movie gets delayed now, so we'll see what happens with Shazam!. But so far, I've been working on the script. We can still do that, so that's being done and then, yeah, we'll just see in a couple of months how it looks, you know?"

The first Shazam! movie was also directed by Sandberg, and starred Zachary Levi as Shazam, Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, and Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman. Shazam! had a strong performance in the box office and received critical praise for bringing a much needed, light-hearted touch to the DC Extended Universe.

While a delay has not officially been put in place for the production on Shazam 2, it does seem very likely given the current state of the industry, country, and world in large. Any production that hasn't been delayed will most likely announce a halt unless there are significant decreases in cases of coronavirus. Efforts have been taken to "flatten the curve," but it seems that things may become worse before they get better. Despite the long list of production shutdowns, this does not mean there won't be any new content. Netflix releases won't be affected by coronavirus until later this year. While good news about the Shazam! sequel would of course be welcome, the health of all those who work on these projects take priority.

Next: Nintendo's Clubhouse Games Is Perfect For Quarantine, But Arrives Too Late

Source: ComicBook

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