The DCU is currently a mess. Unfortunately for Shazam, the DC character is caught in the crossfire of mismanagement. Originally, Shazam! came out to glowing reviews from critics and fans when it was released in 2019. The film only made $367.7 million worldwide. However, the production budget was only $100 million, so Shazam! was ultimately profitable in the end.
Fast forward to four years later in Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the first film to come after the announcement of James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s plans to reboot the entire franchise. Sadly, the reviews for Shazam! Fury of the Gods was extremely low. The opening box office numbers were worse. It opened to $30.5 million domestically. This is a huge drop from the first film opening to $53.3 million. Shazam! Fury of the Gods would go on to do $133.8 million worldwide. The DC feature is a flop. And now, the future of Shazam remains in question.
Zachary Levi Shares His Disappointing Over Shazam! Fury of the Gods Disappointing Box Office Numbers
The Shazam actor spoke about the future of the character going forward and it certainly doesn’t look good, “The first one did well enough where they said, ‘Hey, let’s look into making a second one.’ Levi said on The FilmUp Podcast. “And then they pitched me the idea on it. I thought it was really fun,” Levi recalled. “I really enjoyed making that movie, and I really enjoyed playing that part. I don’t know what the future holds for it all because, unfortunately, the second movie was not as well received. The audience score is still quite good, but the critics’ score was very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind.”
The chances of Shazam returning to the DCU are slim to none. It’s bad enough that Gunn and Safran announced the entire rebooted DCU slate without mentioning the character once. Gunn teased that the character could return during the press run, but he’s been silent about the film since it’s been removed from theaters.
Did James Gunn and Peter Safran Kill The Remaining DCEU Films
Credit: Shazam: Fury of the Gods
Shazam! Fury of the Gods flopped. The Flash and Blue Beetle were also financial disasters. Gunn and Safran certainly killed the DCU. Arguments can easily be made for The Flash that the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller played a huge role. However, Shazam was controversy-free. Unless you want to point to all the Dwayne Johnson accusations. Gunn and Safran literally told fans that Shazam, Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman didn’t matter when he announced his entire slate without one mention of any of these characters.
Add in the fact that audiences are simply over mediocre DC films and Shazam! Fury of the Gods didn’t stand much of a chance. It’s disappointing that Zachary Levi is pointing the finger to haters and trolls being one of the reasons that the film flopped. The reasoning is quite obvious, though it’s likely the actor doesn’t want to bite the hand that feeds him.
Should Shazam Return To The DCU?
Credit: Shazam!
Shazam is actually a great character and his personality could be a fun clash against the likes of Damian Wayne or The Authority. However, Shazam isn’t needed for the next generation of DC. The two films didn’t necessarily do a great job of truly capturing the unique voice that brings the superhero to life.
The films were solid overall, but it would be better if Shazam stayed out of future films until further notice. The Peacemaker tease was certainly intriguing and it would be a great idea if he was a central figure in the second season. The best James Gunn and Peter Safran can do is veer away from the modern DCEU films. Making another Shazam! movie would only confuse the audience further, and muddy a universe that’s already murky at the moment.
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