Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set two years after the original movie. Directed by Lights Out filmmaker David F. Sandberg, the first Shazam! movie came out in 2019, chronicling the tale of troubled orphan Billy Batson (Asher Angel) as he acquires the ability to transform into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi). Critically Shazam! was praised for its light-heartedness and joyful overtones, and commercially too, the film performed well at the box office, netting $366 million worldwide against a budget of $80-100 million. Given its success, WB and DC Films quickly put a sequel in development, which is currently scheduled to premiere on June 2, 2023.
Last Saturday, fans got their hands on many important details from Shazam! 2 when the BTS trailer for the movie was unveiled at the DC FanDome. Firstly, the footage spotlighted the movie's new villains, Kalypso and Hespera, played by Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren. Some new locations were also teased, along with the supernatural creatures that will appear in the movie. The trailer also provided a good look at the returning cast, including Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Grace Fulton, and Jovan Armand, among the teenagers. Plus, Levi, Adam Brody, Meagan Good, Ross Butler, and D. J. Cotrona are full-grown superheroes. The story for the sequel hasn't been revealed, but new details show how much time has elapsed since the end of the first film.
During an appearance at the DC FanDome China, Levi confirmed (via DCVERSO) that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set 2 years after Shazam! In the original movie, Billy Batson was 15, but he will be 17 and just a year away from becoming an adult in the sequel. Levi additionally teased Billy's whereabouts during the time jump. He stated that by the time the new movie premieres, the teenager would have become the leader of the Shazam family after spending two years fighting thieves and criminals.
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It makes sense for Shazam! 2 to be set some years after the original film, as otherwise, it would be hard to explain how the teenagers have grown up so much. Right from when the sequel was greenlit, Sandberg has been trying to hurry work on the film, as he feared that if too much time passes by, the young cast will become too old to play their parts convincingly. This is the reason why, although Shazam! 2 won't release for a full two years, production on the movie has already been completed.
With the time jump, some logical questions arise about the superpowers of the Shazam family. Since Billy will be just a year away from turning 18 in Shazam! 2, it will be interesting to see if he can still transform into his grown-up alter-ego after he is an adult. The sequel already has Grace Fulton playing both versions of Billy's 19-year old foster sibling Mary, but that's more because that is how her powers were established in the Golden Age. It's, however, also likely that DCEU might change the Shazam family's powers so that they can choose their form once they are legally an adult, although to know for sure, fans would have to wait for more details on Shazam! 2. The two-year time jump provides a smooth transition from the first movie to the second and builds intrigue to see how the characters have changed over the years.
Source: DC FanDome China (via DCVERSO)
