Why The Shazam Sequel Never Stood A Chance

The first Shazam movie starring Zachary Levi took movie audiences by surprise. At the time many fans were unhappy with the direction of Zack Snyders DC Universe, but the first Shazam was a breath of fresh air. The sequel, Shazam Fury of the Gods was a different story. Panned by critics, and ultimately a box office failure, Shazam Fury of the Gods came and went with most not even noticing. But how exactly did a sequel to a sleeper hit superhero movie end up this bad? How did Shazam Fury of the Gods fail so spectacularly?
#shazam #shazamfuryofthegods #dceu #nerdstalgic
SOURCES:
screenrant.com/shazam-2-fuy-g...
www.thewrap.com/dwayne-johnso...
www.yahoo.com/movies/shazam-f...

[@JiffyScooters]

-Asher and Zachary not being the same person -The family don’t have the charm that was in the first movie -In the first movie Mary is about to go off to college yet in the sequel she didn’t go which was odd, I always wondered why they didn’t make the movie set during spring break so she could be back home and help Billy unite the family like how the movie shows in the beginning.

[@mrfunatparties6763]

Even in the first one they weren't the same

[@brandonscott5544]

DCEU WARNER BROTHERS FLOPPY

[@NoNameAtAll2]

​@@mrfunatparties6763first what?

[@alexanderguerrero347]

@@mrfunatparties6763yeah but in the first one he was still young and it made sense for him to overact a bit as an adult. In the sequel the dude was clearly older. And Shazam stayed the same.

[@screenwriterjohn]

Mary was reading a college textbook but wasn't in college. I have so many questions!

[@frankejk]

i loved the first shazam because it felt like an actual personal journey of billy instead of a typical superhero movie. the sequel felt so soulless and uninspired it was really disappointing watching it in the cinema

[@davidvega462]

For me it was the villains. Also…the script…wasn’t great. There’s too many things that were…idk it’s not a simple thing explaining why it wasn’t good

[@Scotty2Hotty4]

Exactly why I didn’t watch It in cinema. DC movies play us every time. We’ll have to let James Gunn get a few movies out

[@Scotty2Hotty4]

Shazam 2 really wasn’t that good. This movie missed the mark compared to the original and on Billy himself. Had so much promise after the ending of the 1st

[@thewatchman13]

Like the video said, the film should’ve had Mr. mind and dr Sivana be the main enemies. They pulled the same thing with The Flash.

[@Vivi_9]

@@Scotty2Hotty4 not sure he's going to improve things much tbh, Marvel/DC movies that aren't Batman/Spiderman are dead

[@licmir3663]

The adult Shazam behaved like Billy in the first film. In the second, he behaved like an idiot.

[@Defx10]

Exactly. They tried to make it a kid's version of Deadpool, and it just ended up being stupid and overly goofy.

[@deeskillz2000]

I don't know about Shazam, but Black Adam is a clear example of why you shouldn't let movie stars make decisions in certain film genres.

[@williamoates3831]

If I'm Dwayne Johnson I wouldn't have wanted to be in this shit either

[@Akiba-dr4uk]

If the Shazam sequel had been about the titular character and Black Adam, it would have done better I feel.

[@cassiedevereaux-smith3890]

Yeah. In such an interconnected a franchise as superhero universes, you can't choose a guy who doesn't want to be associated with the arch-nemesis of his own character.

[@normadgarmez7026]

That's for sure. Especially since The Rock doesn't want to lose a fight and be the villain anymore.

[@everythingisawesome2903]

​@@williamoates3831Yet Dwayne Johnson chooses to be in Black Adam and made it flop.

[@theseanwardshow]

The number one biggest problem with this movie was the skittles commercial crammed into it. More specifically, what it represents to the business interest of the movie to cram a skittles commercial into it. I hated that so much. the second biggest problem with this movie is that the whole thing about Shazam is it’s a little kid fantasy of a boy turning into an adult superhero. They did a good job of getting that across in the first movie, but we’re in the second movie and already doing plot lines about the kids, growing up and moving on. The dynamic wasn’t the same. Shazam would be way better suited to a TV show where we can spend more time with the kids.😊

[@ajms7963]

I watched the movie on HBO Max and was annoyingly frustrated. I was disappointed that we didn't see Billy more. It should have been a story about the family dealing withe powers and their place in the world without them. In the first movie Billy was trying to find his Mom. I would have liked to seen a story where Billy builds connection with his Adopted Mother. Thus when Billy calls her Mom it is earned and heartfelt. Same with the Dad, having a Latino Gay super-hero coming out to his father would have been great story to see too. Instead it was thrown away casually. The movie didn't need Black Adam, it needed to focus on the family and their relationships.

[@marcusinfinity9386]

You don't talk about family in gay Hollywood

[@DSan-kl2yc]

It wasn't thrown away. What you're saying is you wanted some stereotype. The mom has been there for him continually since the first movie.

[@universpro7741]

Nah

[@anubusx]

Shazam and Black Adam should've been in a film together.

[@bradleyf1342]

The rock destroyed that

[@psyke_out]

​@@bradleyf1342 He just had to go ballistic for what happened to Henry Cavill when if he'd just kept his mouth shut, they could've still done him vs Shazam

[@anubusx]

@@bradleyf1342 He was given far to much power and creative control.

[@bigblueboyscout1]

I've always told myself that this second Shazam movie would've worked with Black Adam as its main antagonist. Fury of the Gods as the title suggested as much to me.

[@psyke_out]

@@anubusx Hope he doesn't go to Marvel or join Prime Video Image Comics series and then messes something else up.

[@trinaq]

The first movie already stood up on its own, so a sequel was wholly unnecessary. Plus, it only seemed to exist for Product Placement, and a Wonder Woman cameo.

[@hunterolaughlin]

Well, there was the post credits scene in the original with Dr. Sivan meeting Mister Mind in prison. So there was an indication of there being a sequel, but from the post credits scene, it gives the idea of a much more DIFFERENT sequel than the one we got.

[@bradleyhernandez1170]

Wait what😂 sequel was unnecessary??? There was a whole post credit scene and more exploration for these characters

[@user-x7dc2pq7n]

@@bradleyhernandez1170 post credits don’t mean you have to make a new movie

[@UsiQuotidiani.18]

Shazam concept is really a strong one, a child that can become a superhero and an adult, which kid never thought or dream about it. They really underutilize the idea, instead they choose a generic super hero story

[@paulhugo1623]

"When everybody's super.... no one is"

[@jwanie366]

It’s unfortunate that James Gunn announced the new DCU slate just a month and half before this movie released. That plus The Rock not returning as Black Adam almost certainly hurt it at the box office

[@raidenstark315]

I believe the rock payed a bunch of critics to bomb the film

[@NoNameAtAll2]

what's slate?

[@Defx10]

The Rock was a terrible Black Adam. He doesn't have any of the intensity that Black Adam is supposed to have.

[@raidenstark315]

@@Defx10 he acted like a internet bot

[@eagc7]

I think he didn't had much of a choice, i think James had to reveal a slate for the shareholders, so they can see what their money would go towards.

[@rdear]

I just watched this with my kids last week and the thing that bugged me the. Pay was how Zachary Levi didn’t even attempt to mirror the speaking style of Asher Angel. They were two completely different people and not two versions of the same character.

[@albumkosong]

Yeah. Billy seems more mature and shazam feel a lot childish

[@Thefly-vh8tv]

Yeah. I think you're right. I enjoyed Levi's performance in the 1st one. I think he's carried over the same performance to this film as well, which doesn't really work when Angel's Billy seems to have grown up some between films and is more mature. The Shazam character should of as well but hasn't.

[@braylin5003]

Yeah! That's my biggie issue like how come adult Billy is more childish and joyous than teenager Billy in every way possible. Like idk if it's because the director or the actors don't pay attention to each other's performance but something needs to be fixed.

[@dracos24]

@@braylin5003 I'm leaning towards blaming the director here. Aside from the two actors who likely wouldn't have seen much of the other's performances due to green screening and never being in the same scenes together, there's also the writers to take into consideration.

[@lobowrestler]

I enjoyed the Shazam movies, but the daughters of Atlas seemed like an odd choice. Additionally, they focused more on Freddy and not on Billy. Shazam (Billy) is the main hero and the family are supporting characters. I wish they had continued the story with Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivana with them exploring the various realms. I think that would’ve made for an even better movie. The heads at WB are lost, incompetent in many aspects, and don’t believe in quality movies. As many of us know right now, that kind of repetitive behavior has continued since the merger with Discovery. It is a disaster over there. I will continue enjoy the Shazam movies and hold out hope the small end credit of the second movie sees the character live on in the new universe.

[@A.G.P.115]

Same can be said of marvel and Disney unfortunately.

[@frankgesuele6298]

One of the problems with Hollywood is the inability to stop at one great film.

[@arturbednarczyk4268]

I loved the first Shazam film. It was so down to earth while being funny and pretty touching for a superhero movie. I wasn't interested in the sequel from it's trailer which advertisted it as just more serious and edgy. But when I finallly sat down in the cinema with my friend I can't say I had a bad time. It wasn't great but it was pretty enjoyable and funny (especially compared to the last superhero movie I watched being Quantumania). I enjoyed it decently enough. The story is a mess but i was somehow able to look past it, treat it like a more or less saturday morning cartoon and had fun. It's definitely lower on mine 2023 superhero or even just movies ranking but it isn't half-bad (at least imo)

[@moniquevandoorn8347]

You are right. It was an enjoyable movie despite the bad reviews. Round the same time I also went to see Antman and the Wasp, which also got bad reviews. But here the bad reviews were justified. This movie was a lot worse than the Shazam sequel.

[@universpro7741]

It's better than any other DC movie and every marvel movie after end game except guardians and miles morales, plus the cgi is good

[@doyscherr]

Mr Mind was at end of Monster Society of Evil, a ground breaking comic story that featured every SHAZAM villian. So holding Mr Mind for a later reveal after more SHAZAM movie villians are established is a good call. Except that no more SHAZAM movie villians will be established.

[@Necropheliac]

It’s hard to not overlook the damage that Black Adam did to Shazam. The weird thing is that they both had great potential and got pretty close but missing the mark only by a little. It’s discouraging and disappointing to see how WB messes these things up.

[@Zombiesnyder13]

I had a bad feeling about this movie when I saw it had the same writer from the FAST AND FURIOUS movies No wonder why Billy made that quote about family

[@om58499]

@HeisenbergTheOG​​⁠a bot huh 11.5k subs

[@ak_hoops]

I liked the movie in general, but literally felt like Warner Bros didn't even give it a chance. Sounds like I've said that before. But the story genuinely felt like a HBO Max special compared to a feature film and especially the first one! Crazy because the bts showed a crew that had a great amount of care.

[@ak_hoops]

Also, a massive miss was the Rock pressing Black Adam to not have anything to do with Shazam. That is SO wild. He really ruined all that part of DCEU

[@pineapplegamer6986]

@@ak_hoops he was a super d*ck to the people behind Shazam as well and wanted them swept under the rug to make way for his vision honestly his vision kind of deserved to fail

[@aksharaghav9657]

Zachary Levi's performance was the weakest point of the movie. And what's even more embarrassing is that Asher Angel did a way better job with so less screen time.

[@westnilesnipes]

Shazam 2 was fine. First was obviously better but they did what they could with what they were given. Not being able to use Black Adam def hurt them. The Rock thought he’d be the one to lead the DCEU into the “new era” and…nah 😅

[@timrose9826]

I have to blame the Rock Screwed everything up serving his ego

[@jimmyboy7817]

I was wondering whether Dr Silvana and Mr Mind would become a running gag at the end of the movie and in future films where they keep planning stuff but never get round to doing it. Look, I didn't mind Shazam Fury of the Gods but I preferred the first one because it had more heart to it.

[@boboboy8189]

Villain in this movie is made up villain, meanwhile mr mind is a real villain in comic.

[@Crimson28]

This is a nitpick but the actors playing Shazam and Billy don’t feel like the same character.

[@RandallFrequentFlyerFlagg]

WB should have probably held back on announcing the change in leadership behind their DC films until Shazam 2, Flash and Blue Beetle came out. I imagine that many people passed on these films from a franchise that was effectively dead. With everyone knowing that this much maligned continuity was ending and a new, hopefully better, continuity was taking its place, there was little point in seeing them.

[@hunterolaughlin]

And Aquaman 2.

[@adanrios7951]

It had moments but wasn’t great. I did like Mr. mind’s bride appearances “You said you come!!!, I’ve been here for 2 years!!!” “Hey look, I’M A CATERPILLAR!! I CRAWL EVERYWHERE!!! IT TAKES TIME!!!”

[@andrepaul3483]

I watched this movie for Mary. And her stuff alone is a 10/10. She's my fav character in the SHAZAMILY in the comics and Grace Currey playing her in both films was just a nice addition.

[@LeonardoKlotz]

I knew David F. Sandberg should've left DC after the first movie But regardless, I think he did a great job as a director

[@user-oz3um2ii7o]

No. He should return for a third one.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

ah the ponysmasher

[@giodhuha6771]

Sandberg couldn't leave DC because he is still exclusively contracted as filmmaker for WB

[@boboboy8189]

​@@giodhuha6771he already said he will do horror movie for WB but not doing any DC movie after this. Obviously studios meddling is why he want return back to horror

[@rinzzzzie718]

I agree. Although the writing could be better, Shazam 2's direction, cinematography & CGI was amazing.

[@mbanerjee5889]

I think the movie would have worked without a villain. It should have just focused on the family dynamic and them dealing with their powers.

[@strwbrybabyg245]

lmao WHAT??? sweetie it's a superhero movie... there's always a villain... the whole point it taking down villains...

[@TorontoWire]

All I wanted from this entire thing was a Ben Affleck Batman movie. I was more than happy with The Suicide Squad Now they are rebooting the whole thing in super hero fatigue to abandon most of this world I learned to love.

[@anubusx]

Gunn is still keeping some of the actors from the DCEU which makes no sense if the dcu is a straight reboot.

[@user-oz3um2ii7o]

​@@anubusxBecause it isn't.

[@michelleobama3362]

@@anubusx Wish they kept Henry Cavill too but the need for a ‘younger’ Superman is understandable. Hope they keep most of the suicide squad actors going forward.

[@gorf959]

@@anubusxit works for James Bond, though I suppose it would have been more confusing if like Judi Dench’s M had her own stand alone movies and you weren’t sure if they were part of the Brosnan or the Craig continuum

[@TheDefiniteArticle_]

I loved Shazam 1 shame about the sequel.

[@hawkhero5730]

Billy's internal conflict is his fear of being kicked out of his home when he turns 18. But that's barely touched on and doesn't line up with his external conflict, the Daughers of Atlas.

[@universpro7741]

Wtf

[@hawkhero5730]

@@universpro7741 Do you not remember the small scene with his foster parents near the end of the movie? Are you unfamiliar with the term "aged out?"

[@universpro7741]

@hawkhero5730 there's no need to fill the whole movie with scenes like that. One was enough

[@hawkhero5730]

@@universpro7741 I'm not suggesting the movie have more scenes like that. I'm saying that the scene earlier where Shazam is trying to get the super-powered version of his family to have a serious meeting is actually about this hidden conflict, but it stays unspoken until it's explained. It's like if Darth Vader says he's Luke's father in the same scene that we meet Darth Vader. And I'm saying the movie should be about Shazam and Billy, and that the Daughers are there so we can see what he's going though.

[@ArneAsada69]

Shazam 2 had its issues but it was twice as good as Black Adam but only made half the box office.

[@phatalphd5402]

I didn't like the Shazam family. Kinda just wanted a movie with Billy/Shazam. And they definitely shouldve had black Adam as a bad guy. And no...not the rock black Adam.

[@scinnyc]

I agree with you about the Shazam family but not about Black Adam. As inexperienced and goofy as Shazam was, Black Adam would've killed him in mere minutes lol

[@MichaelMassie]

Once again, Dwayne Johnson's ego gets in the way of pleasing fans.

[@GOLD4DJ]

Of course Dwayne Johnson wasn't gonna show up in the movie where he would lose. It is literally in his contracts, that He cannot lose.

[@rjspires]

A lot of DC films have been hurt by the fact WB announced rebooting DCU.

[@Devils_Lair_Comics]

I blame the bad marketing and the snyder cult.

[@bhodili-3396]

They should have gone with Mister Mind as the Villain in the Second Shazam Movie. Or at least bought in Black Adam.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

I think the real mistake was making the whole family superheroes. Would've made more sense if it was a one time thing, and Shazam was the only one that kept his powers at the end.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

Well the marvels always had more than one. 3-6 originally. I think they made it work. They could have had some of the others not interested in being superheroes and the little girl too young. But I think it worked.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

@@DSan-kl2yc It works in the comics because they have more room to explore the other members of the family and what they're up to. Captain marvel/Shazam is more of a side/support character in the DC universe. Maybe you can make Mary Marvel work, but his stories would need to add on to the DC cinematic universe. He should be interacting with the greater universe or other younger heroes like the Teen Titans. I understand giving him an origin story, but further sequels really need to matter in terms of establishing his place in the DC universe. I think that you can an interesting story exploring his place in the world, and also having it be a Shazam centric movie.

[@boboboy8189]

The first movie were written by geoff John. Geoff John is great for children stuff such as he did shazam New 52 in DC comic and star girl also written by him Who he also wrote in comic. Problem is when wb pushing their ideology and not quality, thats why this movie flop with bad script.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

@@boboboy8189 what ideology?

[@JoonKy]

Why didn't they use Mr Mind for the sequel's villain?

[@matityaloran9157]

That’s a very good question

[@ironmaster6496]

For real his omission just makes this movie feels like filler, it's like if Spider-man 3 didn't even featured Harry

[@eagc7]

According to the director, given that the end of the 1st movie set up a team up with Sivana, he felt it was too early to bring him back as it would be a repeat of the last movie, so he opted to save the Sivana and Mr. Mind story for later, so he could explore a new set of villains for movie 2.

[@Old_Man_Medina_Gaming]

I couldn’t get passed the first 20 minutes, and I NEVER quit movies. It felt like Sky High, and zach Levy was overdoing it

[@boboboy8189]

This movie doesn't have heart like first movie did, they focused too much on made up 3 villain which is not from comic and salty they abandon mr mind as villain while he did cameo in post Credit scenes. Its like thanos making cameo but in sequel they swap him with kang the conqueror.....

[@Old_Man_Medina_Gaming]

@@boboboy8189 makes sense

[@Silvermud21]

Shazam was one of my favorites heroes as a kid and it took until my 20s to get a movie. But even the first one didn’t feel right. DC has no idea what they’re doing.

[@mew10521]

I thought everyone liked the 1st one; what u didn't like?

[@scinnyc]

Thank you. Shazam 1 was boring as hell, slow and way too goofy. I was pissed that I actually bought the DVD without watching it first lol

[@boboboy8189]

​@@mew10521if you read comic you Will understand that Billy batson in comic is innocent heart not until 2011 when geoff John Who rewrote his character to be emo. Meanwhile shazam not supposed to contradict Billy, instead their character arc is contract with each other.

[@abn3r507]

Shazam 2 should've been Shazam vs Black Adam

[@ravifonseca8]

Damn Boy!!! That was a cold intro to the video 🔥🔥🔥

[@DW3010]

I love this, Suzanne cartoon and comics when I was a kid. When I saw the first movie in theaters, I left the theater satisfied with what I saw. When I heard there was gonna be a sequel I was excited, within the first 40 minutes of the sequel, I was bored. I love Zachary Levi, but, like you said, in the video, he acted like a child. I could go on about this, but you covered a lot of it in the video. 👍🏻

[@What.99]

I found it funny that Mary’s SHAZAM-form is just her in a skirt lol. Like, nobody noticed that Mary and Mary Marvel looked strikingly similar? At least Clark Kent wore glasses and slouched a lot to protect his secret identity lmao.

[@El_TigreNegro]

Imagine if DC had recast Dave Batista as Black Adam 😬 all of this could have been avoided

[@lor05]

Shazam went from being a teenager to a 7 year old.

[@Taw973]

This film came out a week after Scream VI and a week before JW4. It was in between 2 franchise movies, and it made the mistake of being released during that time.

[@bobbymak6964]

I saw Shazam 2 and there was something missing. You nailed it with your analysis.

[@itisnotsosimple]

I literally didn't know this film existed until I watched this video.

[@rufusblue8044]

As old as those witches were they had no clue what glass was at the beginning

[@tybo8377]

The second shazam was supposed to have black adam. Or atleast mr mind like they teased in the post credit

[@justingochioco1121]

I saw the movie 2 times and overall, I enjoyed it , I do plan to buy it on blu ray since I have both black Adam and Shazam so gotta complete the trilogy

[@codypower4298]

There's no world where you could call that a trilogy

[@justingochioco1121]

@@codypower4298 Well Sean Chandler from youtube calls it a trilogy

[@robertobuatti7226]

I'm not a DC fan nor a Marvel fan but I am a movie lover and I do watch both from Marvel and DC, I was excited for Shazam: Fury Of The Gods and Black Adam as the trailers looked pretty good and I was excited for them right up until I watched them, which both of them felt empty in their narrative, like nothing substantial or special about their plots, they both had pretty bad CGI which looked very digital and artificial, the performances all felt flat and they had no direction really, the writing was really subpar, Watching this Nerdstalgic video and the Black Adam one they really should of stuck to the comics as they sounded more interesting, I don't read comics nor do I read in general but I do watch movies as they are my passion, it a shame we didn't get the Shazam and Black Adam movies from the comics the readers deserved or for newcomers like myself for these characters and their worlds to be introduced to a faithful interpretation for the big screen.

[@Hinestyler2]

The first Shazam is one of the best DC movies.

[@santanusk2853]

I shudder🥶 to think how close I got to watching a movie starring Rachel Zeegler. I think I used up all my luck

[@davebratton1702]

I loved the first film and liked the second. As good as the Daughter's of Atlas were (and played by far better actors than Dwayne Johnson), Black Adam would have added a huge boost. Then Gunn made his announcement of a cinematic universe reboot and (accidentally) kicked the legs out from the remaining films left on DC's slate (all of which have bombed so far. We'll see what happens to Aquaman, but I'm not overly hopeful.). I do think Fury of the Gods deserved a better fate.

[@CDN_Bookmouse]

I spend my entire life navigating around man-children with too much power, I don't need a whole movie about it where it's supposed to be cute and funny. Maybe some people can enjoy it but for me it's too real for me to just enjoy a fun fantasy version. Apparently audiences agree that they'd be better off without it too.

[@goORIOLES236]

The biggest problem with Shazam 2 was that even though I enjoyed it in theaters, I didn’t think much of it, even immediately after my screening. It just didn’t leave any impression on me, the way the first movie did.

[@boboboy8189]

None of James gunn movie make me remember either but hey, mcu fan love him so wb knew what they planning is

[@TheGUNdalf]

I liked the first one so much but wasn‘t interested in the second one because of the trailers and plot

[@thatRyzzle]

Rachel Zegler was one of the villains. LOL

[@PowerPandaMods]

Personally, I didn't see Shazam 2 because of Shazam 1. It was a family film with a gruesome and horrifying scene of demons eating people. Plus one of the running gags in the film involves a strip club. The complete tonal inconsistency meant that I couldn't show the 2nd film to my family until I had previewed it myself.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

I haven’t seen it. I was actually looking forward to it at one point. I must say from the trailers though that I was surprised how much older Zachary Levi appears. I mean Billy Batson can edge, but captain marvel….excuse me, “Shazam” is timeless and immortal, so that was just really distracting. I don’t know if it impacted the film at all, but it would be interested to hear about it if it did.

[@hottakestuesdays7450]

Don't. let. people. poison. your appreciation of it. Its not perfect but I still think its a great. sequel. Nerds being nerds harshly judging something bc its fashionable to. Its better than a good 70 percent of MCU movies if not more.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

@@hottakestuesdays7450 oh, don’t worry about that. I only hate things that are popular. I’m shallow like that. I’m sure some day i’ll be awake at 3AM and it’ll be “free with ads” on KZbin and I’ll check it out, and if I like it qt all, I’ll be quick to throw it on the rotation of movies I speak glowingly of and everyone else hates. I’m just not in a rush to check it out.

[@joeavreg2254]

I only found out Shazam 2 had come out after it was already out because of one ad on youtube. I think it had a second big issue in that the original trailer looked way too expensive for the movie. The first Shazam looked like it was about someone on the groundfloor in the first days so it was small, contained and showed hints of the bigger world, like Spider-man (and Deadpool to a lesser extent). Jumping straight to the bigger world isn't going to kill Spider-man because he has been an A-List character for near enough 50 years now but Shazam doesn't have what it takes to go big like that.

[@kurooaisu]

When a movie made less than your movie in domestic opening weekend but win in the long run (Blue Beetle). You know there's something terribly wrong.

[@jorgegavino7458]

Asher and Levi play the characters completely differently. Levi is clearly an adult olaying a child when its supposed to be a teenager in adult body.

[@lyonspell]

It was really sad to see so many DC characters being butchered in the big screen. I truly hope that Gunn has the right approach to all of them. At least he knows his comics.

[@boboboy8189]

Seriously? He forbid John cena from reading peacemaker comic. Thats a Red flag for me as director Who gonna direct and produce DC universe

[@giodhuha6771]

Also Blue Beetle bombed so hard it is even recognized anymore as neither part of DCEU nor DCU.

[@brandonhall4547]

For me, in a vacuum with no other negative circumstances affecting it, it was just not compelling or fun to watch at all. It really contributed to me starting to lose my love for the live action comic book content

[@radeksparowski7174]

could not focus on it cause drooling about graces graces

[@snapshotsreviews4967]

“Let’s get down to business” 🎵🎵🎵

[@bestintheworld4850]

Why did he become another person when transforming if he’s a 17 year old teen?

[@sarafontanini7051]

should've used mr mind and dr sivana instead. the stinger drumbed up some small interest and it would've been a fun antagonist choice, more than the ones they decided on.

[@bojackbojackbojack]

I was so excited for this movie. I went and saw it in theaters. It was the first time I had been to a movie theater since "Joker" in 2019. Did I like "Shazam 2"? Well, sure. I wanted to see the characters again. Was it a great movie? lol No. That Skittles ad-placement was so cringe it hurt.

[@mutantx2372]

I loved Black Adam but for me the best of the movie was the JSA. I hope the JSA is apart of James Gunn's 10 year plan.

[@Will_Parker]

Gunn killed the movie for no reason. It was a fine movie but Gunn literally told us all not to care just a couple months earlier.

[@ytuser_3122]

I was interested when the first trailer came out, but when it was nearing release, I lost interest and it didn’t help when it was revealed that Dwayne Johnson didn’t wanna share the screen with Zachary Levi and prevented the creative team for this movie to have some of the supporting cast from Black Adam to appear

[@SourRobo8364]

WB keeps shooting themselves in the foot. They deserve to fail.

[@Maggot9004]

It's also the fact that most people know that this movie had no endgame, considering the DCEU was being completely canceled. So what exactly is there to look forward to in the movie if we know the DCEU isn't continuing?

[@aimann_krm]

Finally someone said it, seeing shazam and billy is like seeing two different unrelated characters

[@andymc96]

People have been saying it since the first film

[@stormichow5325]

What do you mean "finally"?

[@FullAhBeans]

James Gunn is pretty much the sole reason i didn't see it, none of it matters now until the new regime starts pumping out content. there's nothing to build toward or set up which is what these expanded universe films are about now.

[@eagc7]

The sad irony is that the director of the movie confirmed that James Gunn told him that if Shazam 2 was succesfull they would've done a Shazam 3 in the DCU, as Shazam would easily fit into his plans, but it was too late to make the audience care again.

[@Frst2nxt]

It's one of my top few superhero favorites ever

[@Wingspand1]

I had no idea this movie came out.

[@RayMcElroy50]

I hope James Gunn helps DC to take over this decade Because I'm sick of the MCU And I hope that he takes it seriously too, because I'll be damned if it has the same comedic tone of the MCU

[@marvinj1000]

Good luck with that especially the seriously tone

[@om58499]

The problem with decu was them taking it serious the synderverse

[@marvinj1000]

@@om58499 no we more serious like the joker, Logan n good storyline

[@milkiassamuel780]

I have complete faith in James Gunn's vision and I truly believe he is going to do phenomenal things with the roster of amazing DC characters under James Gunn and Peter Safran vision as he truly has a fantastic talent for storytelling and has proven to have a deep passionate understanding for DC comics and countless characters.

[@samlung2724]

DC is all about serious

[@TOPSyndicate]

Saw it...loved it

[@AustynSN]

Making Black Adam the villain of the sequel would not only have worked better for this film, but for the Black Adam movie as well. Starting the film, knowing what a ruthless hard ass Adam could be would make his journey to being a protector instead of a monster a lot better. (Note: Haven't seen Black Adam, but I've heard bad things.) I did like Fury of the Gods, but it could have been much better. ("Taste the rainbow, mother..." Best Skittles product placement since Darkened Skye.) As to the mismatch of Billy being serious and Captain Marvel (I will NEVER call Billy "Shazam") being childlike, that's always made sense to me. As Billy, he was on his own for most of his life and had to take care of himself. He's grown up on the streets. The movie would have done well to focus on this as a conflict between him and the vasquezes, who are the first people to truly act as parents to him. Captain Marvel, on the other hand, is the first time in Billy's life he's had the abilities (and then some) and respect of an adult without people treating him like a child and feeling he had to work harder to support himself. Being an adult is the first time Billy has gotten to be a kid since his mother abandoned him (or his parents were murdered by Theo Adam, or disappeared mysteriously, etc) The film could have done well to highlight Billy's feeling that he needed to support himself even while living with the Vasquezes and call back to a modernized version of the chracter's past by revealing that Billy was earning money by posting a podcast series about his adventures as Captain Marvel on the WHIZ podcast network.

[@scinnyc]

The Rock's version of Black Adam was heavily inspired by the comic book version from 2000 to 2011, which was an anti-hero for the vast majority of his appearances. When he actually did fight Shazam (which was rare throughout his entire comic book history) he was usually actually being mind controlled

[@jmalmsten]

I keep forgetting the film exists. So I never have gotten around to watch it. I only now heard that Black Adam wasn't part of the film... And I will probably forget it by tomorrow.

[@israelgarcia535]

I remember when the rock first announced he was going to get a solo movie and congratulating the shazam movie for it's success, sad to see how divided it got

[@TSK51163]

People say that the post credit scene was for nothing the sequel didn't show Doctor Mind and Sivan but Spider-Man 1 did the same thing by Insomniac

[@gingaddict]

I hadn’t been so disappointed with a sequel since Rio 2

[@Synnabelle]

I didn't realize this movie came out

[@Alverant]

I didn't like the villains who seemed to be evil for evil's sake. In their first appearance they make a room full of innocent people start attacking each other before turning them to stone and then to dust. It just seemed excessive and cruel.

[@JohnSmith-jh6ey]

The VILLAINS were cruel that is such a shocking thing for a movie

[@Timlagor]

It's always better for the corporation for the movie to make money. It doesn't follow that the individual executives making decisions about it consider it to be in their own interests for a movie to succeed.

[@firefly4f4]

I've liked Lucy Liu in plenty of other projects, but hearing her say, "We end this now," in the trailer immediately told me this was going to be a problem. Then I actually saw the movie, and it was even worse; she's the main villain! She just cannot portray menace, especially against Helen Mirren. Subverting expectations only goes far. There were a lot of other things wrong, but that's the one that stood for me because of how prominently was in that trailer.

[@100nation8]

Two things that completely turned me off about the first and second movie was the actor that played Shazam. He looked like a taller Jerry Seinfeld than a hero with super human abilities. Regardless, if the first movie was significantly better than the first one. The writers and directors were FORCING Shazam to be a comedy relief. It didn't help that the animated movies of Shazam was the complete polar opposite than the actor that played him. And honestly, him and Billie Baxter looked NOTHING alike which felt like there were 2 different characters. And Secondly, to give his entire adopted family the same powers. That decision made him unremarkable because they could do exactly the same thing that made him SPECIAL.

[@thomasharris743]

I Legit didn’t even know it came out

[@tom2point0]

Shazamily? I have never read that being used for the Shazam Family.

[@Zorro3k6]

A fair review. I respect that. I may be in the minority, but I actually liked Fury of the Gods more than the first Shazam movie. And it's just sad the second one was shoved aside without really getting a chance to stand on its own feet. I didn't see it in theaters because I personally wasn't all that interested as the first one failed to impress me and I didn't like it unlike other people. But I did see the second one when it came to Max. Quite honestly, issues I had with the first one, I didn't have with the second one. The biggest of which is the villains. I hated Doctor what's his name in the first movie. Straight up the worst part for me. I also had a hard time believing Billy was the right choice based on how the plot flows. It didn't feel like he earned the power he was given. And of course the whole movie he doesn't really do much actual super hero stuff. What worked though was the family dynamic. Easily the best part of the film. Btw, these issues I had the first time I watched it in theaters and then again years later on Max. Fury of the Gods I enjoyed a lot more because the villains were actually more compelling. The stakes were higher imo. And Billy actually did earn the power. And of course the family dynamic was still very present and works well. While the disjointed acting of the character didn't gel, I honestly didn't notice it that much with everything else going on in the film. I will say though, the post credit scene in the second one is hilarious. That's just my personal take on it. You of course are free to disagree with me.