Major SPOILERS Ahead For Shazam! Fury of the GodsShazam! Fury of the Gods features a hilarious running joke involving Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, but trailers for the movie unfortunately took all the wind out of its sails by spoiling the character's appearance in the film. The newly released sequel to 2019's Shazam! makes an attempt to be more closely tied to other DC movies than the original, even despite the chaos surrounding James Gunn and Peter Safran's reorganization of the entire franchise. Part of this effort included a cameo from Gadot's beloved Justice League member, for whom Billy Batson (Zachary Levi/Asher Angel) fosters romantic feelings. Although this moment remains hilarious, the film's promotional material completely spoils the joke.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the first of the DC Universe's 2023 films, many of which are looked at with an extra sense of scrutiny as Gunn and Safran look to reset the franchise. The film nevertheless remains largely in its own corner of the DC Universe, focusing on the relationship between Billy Batson and the other members of the Shazam family as they battle the wicked Daughters of Atlas. Gadot's not-so-surprising appearance as Wonder Woman also unfortunately arrives only months after the cancelation of Wonder Woman 3.
How Shazam 2's Trailers Ruin Its Running Wonder Woman Gag
Shazam 2's biggest Wonder Woman joke builds off the original Shazam's Superman cameo, but is unfortunately undercut by its own trailers. The 2019 film infamously set up a cameo from Henry Cavill's Superman as its characters continually referenced the possibility of meeting him. Shazam! ends with an appearance from the Man of Steel himself, but memorably doesn't show his face as he joins Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) for lunch. The clever, but ultimately disappointing cameo remains one of Shazam!'s most controversial moments, leading Fury of the Gods to build on the running gag, this time by teasing an appearance from Diana Prince.
Recognizing how to play with its audience's expectations, Shazam 2 works Wonder Woman into its story, including a dream sequence in which Billy is on a date with the Amazon, who can only be seen from the neck down. Had Wonder Woman not been spoiled in Shazam! Fury of the Gods trailers, audiences would have merely expected her appearance to be yet another faceless cameo. Gadot's actual appearance in the final scenes of Shazam 2 was no doubt meant as the punchline to the running gag, but unfortunately loses any element of surprise thanks to the trailers prior to release.
Does Wonder Woman's Shazam 2 Cameo Impact Her DC Universe Future?
As exciting as her Shazam 2 cameo is, it is difficult not to look at Wonder Woman's appearance as her final DCEU outing, at least while portrayed by Gadot. After Gunn and Safran launched DC Studios as its co-CEOs, it became clear that certain DCEU characters would not survive the transition. Henry Cavill's Superman and Ben Affleck's Batman were among the first casualties of the shake-up, while Gadot's future as Wonder Woman remains unclear, especially after the development of Wonder Woman 3 was stalled. As a result, Gadot's cameo may do very little to connect Shazam to any of the other DCU superheroes.
Even the Shazam! franchise stands on shaky ground in relation to the rest of the DCU. Although Shazam 2 sets up potential sequels in its post-credits scenes, it remains unclear whether Shazam 3 will ever be made, or if the franchise will be folded into the DCU. Gunn has expressed a desire to include the franchise but has offered little in terms of concrete future appearances from its characters. It may be that Shazam! Fury of the Gods features the first and last true interaction between its eponymous character and the DCU's other superheroes.
