Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC character Shazam. Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Films, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Shazam! (2019) and the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by David F. Sandberg and written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, it stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D. J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, and Helen Mirren. The plot follows Billy Batson / Shazam and his foster siblings as they fight the Daughters of Atlas to save the Earth.

A sequel to Shazam! began development shortly after its release in April 2019, with Gayden returning as writer, and Morgan joining soon after to revise Gayden's screenplay. Sandberg and Levi were also set to return by that December. The title and the rest of the returning cast were confirmed in August 2020, with Zegler, Mirren and Liu cast as the daughters of Atlas in early 2021. Filming began that May in Atlanta, Georgia, and concluded in August.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods premiered at the Fox Village Theatre in Los Angeles on March 14, 2023, and was released in the United States on March 17. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who considered it inferior to its predecessor. It was a box-office failure, grossing $134.1 million worldwide against a production budget of $110–125 million.

Plot

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 Billy declines. 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".
• Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody as Freddy Freeman:
  Billy's physically disabled foster brother, who is a fan of superheroes. Grazer portrays Freddy's regular form, while Brody portrays his adult superhero form.
• Rachel Zegler as Anthea / Anne: The youngest daughter of Atlas, who has the power of Axis, and Freddy's love interest.
• Ross Butler and Ian Chen as Eugene Choi:
  Billy's younger foster brother who is an obsessive gamer. Butler portrays Eugene's adult superhero form, while Chen portrays his regular form.
• D. J. Cotrona and Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña:
  Billy's older foster brother, who is shy, sensitive and later revealed to be gay. Cotrona portrays Pedro's adult superhero form, while Armand portrays his regular form.
• Grace Caroline Currey as Mary Bromfield:
  Billy's mature and academically driven older foster sister. Currey also portrays Mary's adult superhero form, replacing Michelle Borth from the first film.
• Meagan Good and Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley:
  Billy's good-natured younger foster sister. Good portrays Darla's adult superhero form, while Herman portrays her regular form.
• Lucy Liu as Kalypso: The middle daughter of Atlas, who has the power of chaos.
• Djimon Hounsou as Shazam: The last surviving member of the Council of Wizards, who bestowed his powers on Billy Batson, after designating the boy as his champion.
• Helen Mirren as Hespera: The oldest daughter of Atlas, who has elemental abilities.

Billy's foster family also includes Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews as Rosa and Victor Vásquez, the foster parents of Billy and his siblings. Reprising their DCEU roles in the film while uncredited, Gal Gadot appears as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, alongside Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee as John Economos in the mid-credits scene, and Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana and director David F. Sandberg as the voice of Mister Mind in the post-credits scene. 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. P. J. Byrne briefly appears as Dr. Dario Bava, a pediatrician whom Billy confused as a therapist, while Diedrich Bader briefly appears as Mr. Geckle, a school teacher. Sandberg's wife Lotta Losten, who previously portrayed Dr. Lynn Crosby in the first film, cameos as a nurse who is saved by Shazam. Michael Gray, who portrayed Billy Batson in the 1970s television series, makes a brief cameo as a man on the street, calling the transformed Billy "Captain Marvel". Natalia Safran, wife of producer Peter Safran, cameos as a driver with kittens. CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer makes a cameo appearance as himself.