Shazam! Fury of the Gods is not a hit, and it seems like some finger pointing over the blame is beginning behind the scenes. Or, in this case, right out in the open.
Yesterday, a report in TheWrap claimed that Dwayne Johnson, the star and producer of the previous DC Studios movie, Black Adam, “kneecapped” Shazam! Fury of the Gods in order to build up his own role in the DC Universe. Supposedly (allegedly), Johnson shot down a plan to have Zachary Levi’s Shazam appear in a post-credits cameo in Black Adam where the members of the Justice Society try to recruit him, in order to build anticipation for Fury of the Gods. Instead, Johnson helped facilitate Henry Cavill’s short-lived return to DC, and appeared in a post-credits scene teasing a battle between Superman and Black Adam.
Johnson’s maneuvers were all for nothing; DC Studios hired new CEOs, who quickly sent Cavill packing (again) and began planning a new universe that Black Adam will, at least at first, not fit into at all. Whatever Johnson’s role in controlling Black Adam’s ending, Zachary Levi responded to TheWrap’s report, posting excerpts from it on his Instagram story with the quote “The truth shall set you free.”
READ MORE: Fury of the Gods Director David F. Sandberg on Making the Sequel
If the report is accurate, Johnson may have unintentionally sabotaged Shazam! But with or without his role, Fury of the Gods wasn’t fabulous. (In a separate social media post, Levi claimed that the film was “perfect” for families which … I don’t know about that.) It also was always going to be the end of this phase of DC movies no matter what Levi, Johnson, or anyone else did. It’s the lame duck movie of its universe, and it’s tough to convince people to run out to the theater to see that.
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