Shazam 2 Director On What Other DC Movies He'd Want To Make
David F. Sandberg, director of upcoming DCEU sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods, recently shared his thoughts on other DC movies he would want to make. His upcoming superhero film is a direct sequel to Sandberg's DCEU action-comedy Shazam! starring Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a troubled boy who becomes imbued with an ancient magical force that allows him to change into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi). With the DCEU struggling to find its footing after Justice League, Shazam!, along with Jason Momoa's Aquaman, helped breathe new life into the struggling franchise.
At the end of Shazam!, Billy Batson found himself welcomed into a new family, surrounded by siblings who love him for who he is and who also shared in his experiences with their newfound superhuman abilities. The sequel finds the young heroes facing off against new enemies. Although details of the upcoming film's plot have yet to be revealed, new cast members have sparked speculation. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu will play the daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso. West Side Story's Rachel Zegler has also been joined the cast in an unspecified role.
In a recent Instagram Q&A, Shazam! Fury of the Gods director Sandberg discussed other films he would like to make for DC. During a power outage at the director's home, Sandberg fielded questions from his social media followers and, when he was asked about his desire to direct a future Justice League movie as well as which DC film he would most want to make, the director revealed that while he feels a Justice League sized team-up may be too big for him, the director feels that Shazam is the perfect movie for him. Check out Sandberg's full answers below:
As for Sandberg directing a Justice League movie, Sandberg's response is certainly reasonable due to the precedence established by the controversial mayhem that was the 2017 Justice League film. As for the question about the director's most desired DC property to make, Sandberg explains that he would love to develop a Superman film but cites challenges due to expectations from fans of varying degrees. Sandberg cites the controversy that continues to plague Rian Johnson's Star Wars entry The Last Jedi as a reason why tackling a film about Superman would be such a difficult task. Since Superman has been brought to the big screen many times before, audiences hold different expectations for the character, including those purists who do not wish adaptations to veer too far from the source material. Sandberg understands that pleasing them all would be practically an impossibility.
Sandberg's fears about directing a new Superman film are valid due to the mixed reactions from both Snyder's entries, Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, and every sequel of Richard Donner's 1978 Superman: The Movie starring Christopher Reeve. Pleasing everybody with such an iconic character would be an enormous yet practically impossible task. But a director shouldn't aim to please all fans but aim to stay true to the vision of the adaptation. Such a deviation is one of the main criticisms of Rian Johnson and The Last Jedi. Detractors claim that the Luke Skywalker of that film differed greatly from the character that was established at the end of the original trilogy with The Return of the Jedi. If Sandberg were to do a Superman entry for the DCEU, he would need to at least stand true to the version of the character developed in the Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. As for his DCEU future, Sandberg's Shazam! Fury of the Gods will hit theaters on December 16, 2022.
Source: David F. Sandberg