This week, a report started doing the rounds claiming that Henry Cavill was due to reprise his role as Superman for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the upcoming sequel featuring Zachary Levi as aged-up superhero Billy Batson. It made sense, too, as 2019’s Shazam! established that Billy and the Man of Steel know each other, with Big Blue making a cameo in its final moments (except only from the neck down, with a double standing in for Cavill).
Usually, these kind of reports go unremarked by those involved with the movie, but in this case, director David F. Sandberg has decided to respond to the story on social media, and he hasn’t exactly denied it. Sandberg took to Twitter on Friday to make it clear that he can’t comment on whether Cavill will be in the film or not due to how plans change over the course of production. Which, it has to be said, makes it sound like it is the plan for him to appear right now. He also lightened the mood a little with a follow-up tweet, as you can see below.
Though I can confirm with ~90% certainty that Shazam will appear in Shazam 2. So if you’re a fan of that character you might enjoy Shazam 2.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) February 5, 2021
As Sandberg reminds us, the British star was supposed to show up in Shazam! before negotiations broke down and a stand-in had to be used. At the time, it looked like Cavill had put the DCEU behind him, but at this point, his future with the franchise seems more assured. He may return for a sequel to Zack Snyder’s Justice League and he’s also linked to The Flash movie, and it sounds like there’s a decent chance he may turn up in Shazam! 2 as well.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is due to start shooting in May, though it’s not scheduled to drop in cinemas until summer 2023.