It's been three years since Billy Batson and his superhero alter ego graced movie screens and found his way into the DCEU. Now, the boy hero is back, and this time he's bringing the rest of the family along for the ride as they fight a newer, more powerful enemy in the first trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
There are plenty of other exciting things in this trailer to focus on. Zachary Levi returns as the adult, superhero version of Billy, along with Jack Dylan Grazer (whose superhero avatar is played by Adam Brody), Grace Caroline Currey, and the rest of the Shazamily. David F. Sandberg, who helmed the previous film, returns to direct, with script writing credits going to Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan. The introduction of the Shazamily in the final act of the previous film was a fun and unexpected reveal, and it looks like this movie will continue their story right along with Billy.
However, as with any family, it does seem like there may be some conflict among the siblings. This could potentially be a problem as they face off against Helen Mirren's Hespera and Lucy Liu's Kalypso, also known as the Daughters of Atlas. Mirren even gets to be part of a meta-joke, as Billy lectures her about the Fast and Furious movies (Mirren has appeared in three movies from that franchise).
Judging by the first look at the new film, the story will explore Billy's feelings of inferiority when comparing himself to other superheroes. While he namechecks both Aquaman and Batman, his mention of the Flash remains limited to referring to him as "a superhero with a red suit with a lightning bolt on it." The shots used in the trailer also seem to obscure the hero's face, perhaps trying to keep current Flash actor Ezra Miller, who has faced a number of legal problems over the past few months, at arm's length.
The first Shazam!, apart from being a great Christmas movie, included plenty of great horror elements, which is not surprising considering director David F. Sandberg's background in the genre. The sequel looks like it may be focusing more on action, but the appearance of a large, menacing dragon brings to mind the design of the seven deadly sins from the previous film. Hopefully, Sandberg still finds a way to work those elements into this story as well. The trailer, however, gives no hints at all as to whether Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam will be making an appearance, though if he was, they would likely want to keep it under wraps.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods opens internationally on December 15 2022 and in North America on December 21, 2022.