Once upon a time, Zachary Levi couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of facing off against Dwayne Johnson in a DCU blockbuster, but given all that’s transpired since Black Adam landed back in October of last year, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is having the last laugh and then some.
Not only has David F. Sandberg’s superhero sequel reportedly been approved for a potentially lucrative release in China – something Black Adam was aiming for but didn’t get – the hype train has officially pulled out of the station and started gathering serious steam ahead of today’s brand new trailer dropping.
Ironically, The Rock will be stuck on the outside looking in, and it’s morbidly hilarious in a way when you consider the widespread reports touting that the one-time Man in Black had been offered a cameo appearance in Fury of the Gods, but turned it down because he deemed the candy-colored franchise (which he produces) to be beneath him.
It’s been one of the toughest times of Johnson’s career in the aftermath of the Black Adam fiasco, and it’s rare to see the all-powerful actor, producer, and business mogul be embarrassed on such a scale in such a public way. He had eyes on his own corner of the DCU and a showdown with Henry Cavill’s Superman, only to end up with nothing.
Meanwhile, the Shazam! series and its associated characters seems destined to continue on under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new regime, and fans couldn’t be more excited about being reintroduced to old faces, as well as a stacked set of new ones.