Analysis | ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ post-credits cameos hint at the future
The latest film stars Asher Angel as teenage Billy Batson and Zachary Levy as adult superheroes who magically transform when he says the word “Shazam” to represent the franchise. Goes out of its way, can live on at DC Studios despite being filmed before. Gun was. Named his co-boss.
The biggest clue comes in the first of the film’s two post-credits scenes, featuring agents Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) from the HBO Max series “Peacemaker.” (Friendly reminder, if you’ve never seen a comic for kids. “Pacemaker” opening credits, treat yourself). The two agents reveal that they know Shazam’s secret identity and that he has received an invitation from Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to join the Justice … Society. You were almost there. You won’t see Justice League again until Gunn does.
Putting Shazam head-to-head with characters from an ongoing DC series where Gunn was featured for the first season seems like an “A” in proving the hero. It also doesn’t hurt that Gunn’s fellow DC studio co-head Peter Safran is both “Shazam!” is the producer of Movies
The second post-credits scene is the first “Shazam!” marks the return of the villain. In the film, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), who is still in prison, interacts with Mr. Mind (voiced by director David F. Sandberg), an alien insect with the mind of a genius. Shivana is frustrated that she has been in prison for two years with little contact from Mr. Mind, who assures her that he has a plan going forward that will get her out soon. Will this project be in the third “Shazam”! Film under Gunn’s supervision? A post-credits scene featuring Strong could have easily been left on the cutting room floor at Gunn’s behest. But it was not so.
Cameo in “Shazam!” What fans wanted the most but it didn’t happen: Black Adam. It’s no shock considering Dwayne Johnson knows his character won’t be playing second fiddle to anyone in the DC universe, including Levi’s Shazam. The two are fierce rivals in the comics and Levy told The Washington Post in 2019 He thought the matchup would be “popular”. But It looks like they will never be on screen together until Black Adam is recast. This is a huge mistake and shows how messed up DC was before Gunn arrived.
Johnson brought Henry Cavill back as Superman in one “Black Adam” post-credits scene and announced that the pair were DC’s next big rivalry, only for Gunn to be named co-head of DC Studios shortly after and immediately confirm that Cavill would not be their Superman.
The biggest cameo of this new “Shazam”. Is Gal Gadot returning for a quick but very meaningful appearance as Wonder Woman? “Fury of the Gods” initially teases his arrival in a dream sequence but you don’t get to see his face, as the cheesy Superman “appears” from the neck down at the end of the first film. But Gadot swoops in and saves the day in the end, leaving fans to wonder if this is the last we’ll see of the character or if she’ll be back. Gunn has revealed: the new Superman, the new Batman and the new Robin. But the new Wonder Woman? Gunn has yet to confirm. And does Gadot even want to continue as Wonder Woman if director Patty Jenkins isn’t involved? Jenkins has gone on record as saying that she would love to continue with the franchise, but it seems that DC wanted to go in a different direction..
Ezra Miller’s “The Flash” movie later this summer will help welcome Gunn’s new superheroes of the future. He may be the reason Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Levi’s Shazam aren’t coming back in the DC reboot.
Or Gunn could decide that his new DC universe will be a collection of new superheroes and not new superheroes.