One of the positive effects of Warner Bros. Pictures and DC ultimately not copying Disney and Marvel’s tight continuity in the MCU films for their own DCEU franchise (after “Justice League” in 2017) was that each superhero film that came out since has felt like a freestanding production that could tell its own self-contained story. As a result, “Aquaman” in 2018 and “Shazam!” the following year were not beholden to make allowances for a myth arc across the franchise, focusing instead on any planned sequels for themselves. In the case of “Shazam!” it has a direct sequel and a spinoff, and word is that they would both start filming simultaneously.
Comic Book Resources tells us that preproduction on future DCEU superhero movies “Shazam! 2” and “Black Adam” are moving apace in such a way that they could potentially sync up on their filming schedules. Barring any unforeseen problems the studio expects the “Shazam!” sequel to begin its principal photography later this year in July, with the “Black Adam” spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson starting not long after. “Shazam!” director David F. Sandberg has already been listed as coming back to work on the sequel, although no concrete details have been given yet on possible filming locations.
“Shazam! 2” will see Zachary Levi return as the magically-powered transforming superhero alter ego of Billy Batson, who receives from a wizard the ability to be endowed with the wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles and speed of Mercury. Billy/Shazam shares this power with his foster siblings to form a team of heroes. “Black Adam” on the other hand is a corrupt former bearer of the power of Shazam from ancient Egypt, who becomes one of the mightiest foes of the Shazam Family in present times.
Despite the possible simultaneous filming of these two DCEU movies from the same source comic-book characters, “Shazam!” lead star Zachary Levi does not see events and characters from either production crossing into the other. At the earliest, Levi expects the villainous Black Adam to appear in a “Shazam! 3” which would be years on in the future. “Shazam! 2” for its part will arrive in cinemas only on 2022, while “Black Adam” with Dwayne Johnson and director Jaume Collett-Serra will premiere earlier on December 2021.
Image courtesy of Business Insider
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