Warner Bros. may have given the DCEU a rough start by trying to catch up quickly with Marvel. But several of their more recent releases have proven how interesting their hero roster is. One such release was 2019’s Shazam. The film garnered positive reviews and made more than 3 times the budget worldwide. So, naturally, sequels are on the way. And two of them will begin filming this Summer.
According to Geeks WorldWide, Shazam 2 will begin filming in July 2020. And as we know from star Dwane Johnson’s tweet last October, that’s the same month Black Adam will begin production. Plot details are unknown at the moment. So we can’t know for sure how much the two films will cross over with one another, if at all. However, Shazam himself Zachary Levi stated the two characters won’t meet until Shazam 3.
Shazam followed foster child Billy Batson after a wizard granted him incredible powers. Speaking the titular name grants him 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. It also turns the teenager into an adult.
Wrestler turned action movie icon Dwayne Johnson has been in talks with DC for nearly a decade. And he’s been attached to play Black Adam since 2014, long before Zachary Levi was cast as Shazam. Though some may have speculated the hero’s arch-nemesis would make an appearance in last year’s origin story, we were only given a brief Easter Egg.
Black Adam will be the first of the two to release on December 22nd, 2021. Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) will direct a script by Adam Sztykiel (Rampage). Other cast members are unknown as of now. Shazam 2 will release a few months later, on April 1st, 2022. David F. Sandberg and Henry Gayden are returning to write and direct, respectively. Zachary Levi will return in the titular role as will Asher Angel as Billy Batson and Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman. No word yet on any other returning cast members, though Billy’s various family members should be expected.
