Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Four years after Thaddeus Sivana's defeat, Hespera and Kalypso, daughters of the Titan Atlas, break into the Acropolis Museum in Athens to steal the Wizard's broken staff. Taking it to the Wizard, imprisoned in the Gods' Realm, they force him to repair it and reactivate its powers. In Philadelphia, Billy Batson and his "Shazamily" are drifting apart as they grow up and pursue their interests. Billy is worried about being kicked out of the Vasquez family home when he turns eighteen. In a dream, the Wizard warns him about the Daughters of Atlas, prompting the Shazamily to research them. The Shazamily enter the Rock of Eternity, where they encounter the sentient pen Steve. It writes about the three daughters of Atlas, and they realize that Anthea, Atlas's youngest daughter, is none other than a girl named Anne. She is someone Freddy Freeman is going to meet. When Freddy meets Anne, he shows off his superhero self. Hespera and Kalypso arrive with the staff and steal his powers. Billy and the Shazamily try to save Freddy, but the daughters kidnap him, encasing the city within an indestructible dome and trapping everyone inside. He is subsequently imprisoned within the Wizard in the Gods' Realm. The Shazamily asks Steve to help draft a letter to negotiate with Hespera for Freddy's release. Billy meets her at a local restaurant and, although the meeting is initially cordial, she and Kalypso soon fight the Shazamily. Pedro loses his powers during the battle, while Hespera is captured and taken to the Rock. Having planned her capture, Hespera easily breaks out and steals the Golden Apple, the seed of the Tree of Life. Meanwhile, Freddy and the Wizard attempt to escape the Gods' Realm with the sympathetic Anthea's help, just as Hespera returns with the Apple. The Daughters argue as Hespera and Anthea want to use the Apple to revive their realm, while Kalypso wishes to plant it on Earth to destroy it. Freddy steals it but is soon discovered. Billy and the Shazamily show up, and Freddy reacquires his powers. Billy and the Shazamily emerge with the Wizard at the Vasquez home, where they reveal their secret identities to their foster parents. Kalypso appears with the dragon Ladon to acquire the Apple and destroy the Vasquez house. The Shazamily attempts to keep the Apple away from Kalypso, but everyone except Billy loses their powers in the skirmish. Kalypso retrieves it, using it to plant the Tree at Citizens Bank Park. It then spawns various monsters to attack the city. Hespera and Anthea object to their sister's destructive plan, but Kalypso mortally wounds Hespera and de-powers Anthea. Billy, in despair, asks the Wizard to revoke his powers, but the Wizard assures him that he is a true hero and so worthy of them. Heeding the Wizard's words, Billy flies off to stop Kalypso, while the Shazamily enlists the help of dark unicorns to fend off the other monsters. Billy persuades a dying Hespera to help him stop Kalypso. Realizing the dome reacts violently to his lightning, Billy lures Kalypso to the park while Hespera shrinks the dome to contain them. Billy sacrifices himself to stop Kalypso and Ladon by overloading the staff with electricity and destroying the Tree and Kalypso's army with it. Hespera acknowledges him as a true god before succumbing to her wounds, causing the dome to disappear. Anthea takes Billy's grieving family to the Gods' Realm for his burial. Diana Prince, known as Wonder Woman, appears and repairs the staff. Imbuing it with her power, she uses it to revive the Gods' Realm, restore Anthea's powers, and resurrect Billy. Billy, in turn, uses the staff to restore his siblings' powers. The Shazamily rebuild their home, while Anthea and Freddy start a relationship, and the Wizard takes up residence on Earth. In a mid-credits scene, Emilia Harcourt and John Economos invite Billy into the Justice Society on behalf of Amanda Waller, but both turn and walk away as Billy expected an offer from the Justice League and is annoyed at how similar they sound. In a post-credits scene, a still-incarcerated Sivana encounters Mister Mind once again, enraged that he has not begun enacting their plan. == Cast ==

• Zachary Levi and Asher Angel as Billy Batson / Shazam:The champion of an ancient wizard, who possesses "the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury". Cotrona portrays Pedro's adult superhero form, while Armand portrays his regular form. Sandberg also cameos as a civilian who is attacked by one of Kalypso's monsters. Rizwan Manji, who portrayed Jamil in the DCEU television series Peacemaker, appears as an unnamed docent. Natalia Safran, wife of producer Peter Safran, cameos as a driver with kittens. CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer makes a cameo appearance as himself. == Production ==

Development With the successful opening of Shazam! in April 2019, Henry Gayden was revealed to be returning to write the script for a sequel. Director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran were also expected to return. == Music ==

In June 2022, Sandberg revealed that composer and conductor Benjamin Wallfisch was unable to return from the first film due to scheduling conflicts with another DCEU film, The Flash (2023); his replacement, Christophe Beck, had already begun work by then. A single, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Main Title Theme)" was released as a digital single by WaterTower Music on February 23, 2023, and the soundtrack album was released on March 10. == Marketing ==

Sandberg promoted the sequel during a virtual panel at the August 2020 DC FanDome event, announcing the film's title and returning cast. McFarlane Toys also partnered to create promotional toys, including action figures and dolls. == Release ==

Theatrical Shazam! Fury of the Gods premiered at Fox Village Theatre ten days earlier than its scheduled April 17 release date. It was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on May 23, 2023. It began streaming on Max on the same day, becoming one of the launch titles of the rebranded service. == Reception ==

Box office Shazam! Fury of the Gods grossed $57.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $76.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $134 million. The film made $11.7 million on Friday (including $3.4 million from Thursday night previews), lowering weekend estimates to $30 million. It went on to debut to $30.1 million (52.2% of total gross), topping the box office but marking a 44% drop from the first film's opening weekend ($53.5 million) and the third-lowest of the DCEU (though the two lower films, The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984, had their releases affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and were simultaneously released on HBO Max). Boxoffice Pros Shawn Robbins called the debut "a soft start, there's no other way to put it," noting the recent underperformances of other comic book films. The Hollywood Reporter called the domestic opening "one of the worst starts for a major Hollywood superhero film" and also lamented the film's $35 million international opening from 78 countries (including "bombing" in China with $4.3 million). In its second weekend, the film dropped 69% to $9.3 million, finishing second behind newcomer John Wick: Chapter 4. It made $4.6 million in its third weekend, dropping to sixth place. Critical response Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 78% positive score, with 64% saying they would definitely recommend it. Chicago Sun-Times Richard Roeper gave the film two out of four stars, writing, "As we pick up Billy/Shazam's story about four years later, it quickly becomes apparent this is just going to be a by-the-numbers, second-tier adventure with only a few small chuckles and one or two genuinely touching moments. The rest is just noise." Kevin Maher of The Times gave it one out of five stars, calling it a "vacuous and disappointing sequel" and writing, "The tedious reincarnation trope is, however, the least of the narrative misfires in a film that borrows its central dramatic device from The Simpsons Movie." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars, saying, "we don't entirely break free of the superhero-movie template, but Shazam two has a just-out-of-the-fridge orange juice taste that makes it likable." The Sydney Morning Herald Sandra Hall gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying, "the film does the job as an engaging send-up of and their affectations. It plays like a junior variation on Marvel's comic hit Deadpool, with goofiness standing in for the f--- word and gallows humour." Responses from cast and crew Following the film's poor financial performance, Sandberg expressed surprise at its critical reception and said, "After six years of Shazam I'm definitely done with superheroes for now." Levi said of the film's reception, "The audience score is still quite good, but the critics' score was very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind." He also criticized the film's marketing. Accolades Shazam! Fury of the Gods received nominations for Golden Fleece and Best Wildposts at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards. == Future ==

In January 2023, DC Films co-CEOs James Gunn and Safran said there was potential for Levi to reprise his role in the new franchise, the DC Universe (DCU), but a decision on the character had not been made. Sandberg said the next month that he was told his films did not contradict Gunn and Safran's plans and that the character's potential return would depend on the film's reception. Following the film's disappointing box-office performance, Levi cast doubt on his return. == Notes ==