With Shazam! Fury of the Gods on course to bomb miserably at the box office, it feels as though a weight has been lifted off the shoulders of leading man Zachary Levi, who now seems happy to unleash his own fury upon opposite number Dwayne Johnson.
Throughout the dovetailing existences of both David F. Sandberg’s sequel and The Rock’s long-gestating passion project Black Adam, rumors ran rampant that the latter wasn’t exactly interested in crossing paths with his comic book arch-nemesis, even if he was credited as an executive producer on the first Shazam! through the involvement of his Seven Bucks company.
Now that Fury of the Gods has been left to wither on the vine thanks to a largely nonexistent marketing campaign and an overwhelming sense of apathy that saw James Gunn and Peter Safran’s overhaul leave it feeling about as inessential and inconsequential as it gets, Levi has decided to throw caution to the wind and take repeated shots at the former Man in Black.
Whether he’s agreeing wholeheartedly with the sentiment that he was blocked from Black Adam while Johnson said no to Fury of the Gods, or savagely proclaiming that he’s got better things to do with his time than watch Jaume Collet-Serra’s failed blockbuster, the actor isn’t holding back anymore.
A recent Instagram Live only added further fuel to the fire, with the revelation that Fury of the Gods “was thwarted” from bringing in members of the Justice Society for a mid-credits cameo, leaving the second chapter to settle for James Gunn regulars Emilia Harcourt and John Economos instead. No prizes for guessing who would have denied that request, even if it is getting a little tiring to hear Levi constantly and subtly shading Johnson for his most recent failure.