Could ‘Shazam!’ Still Have a Future in the New DCU?
It's all in the post-credit scenes
Shazam! Fury of the Gods has finally made its way into cinemas. But considering the recent shake-up at DC Studios, what does the future hold for our favorite Shazamily?
With James Gunn and Peter Safran recently taking over as heads of DC Studios, the slate of upcoming DC projects has changed rather drastically. Henry Cavill isn’t coming back as Superman, despite his cameo in Black Adam. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 treatment was rejected. While The Flash and Blue Beetle are still getting their cinematic releases, the future of these characters in the new DC Universe is completely up in the air.
The Shazam! franchise has historically been quite separate from the rest of the old DCEU. Though Freddy and Billy have certainly referenced heroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, they haven’t been a major part of the Justice League storyline or Amanda Waller’s ongoing shady operations. Billy Batson’s journey could exist on its own, tucked away in Philadelphia and capped off with a headless Superman cameo.
Until now. The Shazam! Fury of the Gods post-credit scenes (yes, there are two) each pave the way forward for Billy and his lovable family to return in the future of the DCU, even if nothing has been confirmed so far. Here’s how. Beware of spoilers ahead!
‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ has 2 important post-credit scenes
Spoilers for Shazam! Fury of the Gods ahead
Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ mid-credit scene features two familiar faces: Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee’s John Economos. Both are major characters in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker series. Harcourt and Economos approach Zachary Levi’s Billy Batson in the middle of nowhere to offer him the opportunity to join the Justice Society. This is a continuation of Black Adam‘s plot line and Amanda Waller’s behind-the-scenes operations.
Given Peacemaker is one of Gunn’s creations, and Viola Davis is set to star in an upcoming Waller series, this first Shazam! Fury of the Gods post-credit scene could easily be taken as proof that Billy and the others will return somewhere down the line in the new DCU. However, nothing has been confirmed thus far, and it’s unclear whether this scene was filmed before or after Gunn’s and Safran’s appointments. (It has been reported that Shazam! 2 was completed before the change in leadership occurred.) Still, there’s plenty here to suggest that Billy’s story isn’t over yet. Bring on Shazam! 3.
What would ‘Shazam! 3’ be about, if it gets made?
Though nothing is set in stone, the second of Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ post-credit scenes teases what Shazam! 3 may be about. It brings the story back to Mark Strong’s imprisoned Dr. Sivana and his dealings with the evil villainous worm Mister Mind. The scene acts as a sort of meta-joke, with Sivana lamenting the time he’s spent waiting for Mister Mind to return. It’s perhaps on par with audiences who expected Mister Mind to be the villain of Shazam! 2 when it was featured in the first Shazam! movie’s post-credit sequence.
But this second Fury of the Gods post-credit scene does a lot to set up the next Shazam story and keeps the door open for these iterations of the characters all to return in the new DCU.
But, as with anything in Hollywood, Shazam!‘s future rides on its box office success. If Shazam! Fury of the Gods does well enough, earning back its budget and making a healthy profit for Warner Bros. Discovery (and performs solidly on HBO Max), there’s a chance that Gunn will bring these Shazam! characters back into the fold. The franchise so far hasn’t contradicted anything that Gunn is working on. As the first post-credit scene proves, it can even be integrated into any new storyline without much issue.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Discovery)
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