A number of Shazam! Fury of the Gods secrets have been revealed by director David F. Sandberg and some deleted scenes from the movie. The Shazam! sequel was not able to repeat the success of its predecessor, with Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ box office run pretty much over at $122 million worldwide, as the movie is already available digitally. The sequel saw a weak audience turnout, likely in part to the ongoing changes to the DC Universe, that made the movie end up falling very short of the original’s numbers, with 2019’s Shazam! bringing in $366 million worldwide.
While Shazam! Fury of the Gods has some pretty disappointing earnings numbers, it’s not all bad news, as the sequel currently has an 86 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The director has taken to Twitter to give back to those who watched Shazam! Fury of the Gods, by revealing some behind-the-scenes secrets from the production. With the movie hitting digital, some deleted scenes have also provided interesting expansions on Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ ending.
Why Shazam 2 Retconned The Shazam Family Suits From The 2019 Movie
Sandberg explained that the Shazam! suits were retconned for a flashback scene in the sequel so that the scene was not too jarring to audiences. The flashback was meant to be a quick cutaway, which would present the audience with both versions of the Shazam Family suits in quick succession. While Sandberg claimed that he liked the suits of the first movie, it was probably for the best that they were changed for the flashback, as the sequel’s suits look more polished and modern. The flashback scene also saw another couple of changes, with Freddy not floating anymore and Grace Caroline Currey taking on the role of adult Mary Marvel.
Shazam 2 Deleted Scene Shows Zachary Levi Singing – Director Explains Why It Was Cut
One of Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ deleted scenes brought forward a moment that was both heartwarming and hilarious. The scene comes at the end of the movie, when Shazam, with the Wizard’s staff, was ready to go against Kalypso and her dragon. Differently from the finished film, The bystanders started cheering Shazam on, with the hero getting a boost of morale and beginning to sing Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” as he used his lighting on the villain’s dome. The director explained that the cheering was cut for time, while Zachary Levi singing was cut due to audiences already thinking Shazam was too silly without it.
Jack Dylan Grazer’s Body Double Is Hidden In Plain Sight In One Shazam 2 Scene
An interesting comment from Sandberg revealed that there was a scene in the theatrical cut of Shazam! Fury of the Gods where there was more than meets the eye. The director revealed that in a scene where Jack Dylan Grazer’s Freddy Freeman was running toward the camera with the Wizard to escape being caught by Helen Mirren’s Hespera, it was actually a body double in the young actor’s place. The choice to use Grazer’s double came from the actor being a minor at the time the movie was shot, which limited the hours he could work. Audiences would have likely missed the switch if Sandberg had not revealed it.
Shazam 2 Mary Marvel Deleted Scene Revealed Origin Of Her Hangover
Shazam! Fury of the Gods let Currey fully shine as both versions of Mary Marvel. The actress had one of the sequel’s funniest scenes when Mary showed up to a Shazam Family team meeting clearly hungover. When asked what she had been doing, Mary simply said she was delivering pizzas. A deleted scene showed Mary delivering food to a party, only for her to know the people at the event. Mary was then invited to come in, which she pondered for a bit before ultimately accepting. The scene added some depth to Mary, with a focus on her personal life, which makes it a shame it got cut.
Why Wonder Woman Revived Shazam, Not Billy Batson
Gal Gadot showing up as Wonder Woman in Shazam! Fury of the Gods was an exciting event. The actress’ appearance comes at a moment when her DC future is up in the air, so to have her coming back for at least one more time with a crucial role in the Shazam! sequel was a welcome surprise. Sandberg gave a little insight on the scene where Wonder Woman revived Shazam, only for it to be Levi who crawled out of the grave, not Asher Angel’s Billy Batson. According to the director, the idea behind having Shazam rather than Billy in the scene was due to Wonder Woman activating his powers.
One Shazam 2 Scene Has Two Versions Of Freddy Freeman In It
Sandberg revealed another interesting secret from Shazam! Fury of the Gods involving Grazer’s Freddy. In a scene where Freddy Freeman is looking out of the window of the dungeon he is trapped in with the Wizard, it is possible to spot two versions of Freddy. One version is the Freddy the audience is focused in, while the secret appearance from the character comes in the background, with footage of guards leading Freddy and the Wizard to the Daughters of Atlas. The choice was made due to Sandberg wanting guards to liven up the scene’s environment, and when no CG guards were available, the director made do with another scene.
Shazam 2 Deleted Scene Helped Set Up Billy’s Fear Of Losing His Family
If there was one thing that Shazam! Fury of the Gods was lacking, it was more of Angel’s Billy. The original Shazam! saw more scenes with Billy Batson in human form, with the most emotional performance as the dual character coming from Angel rather than Levi as Shazam. Continuing from Billy’s abandonment trauma that was established in the original, the sequel had a poignant moment where Billy acknowledged his foster mother as his true mom. This deleted scene would have helped to set up that moment by further displaying Billy’s fear of losing his family as he got closer to becoming an adult and aging out of the foster system.
Shazam 2 Deleted Scene Would’ve Added More Of Billy Batson
It appears that a lot of Angel’s scenes as Billy Batson ended up in Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ cutting room floor. Another deleted scene from the movie would have added a comedic flair to a Shazam scene by quickly cutting away from Levi’s Shazam to Angel’s Billy and back again. The scene in question features Shazam discovering what his name really means, as each letter of the hero’s name is the first of the name of the gods who power Shazam. Levi says the magic word, which brings Angel as Billy in for a quick joke before he says it again and reverts to Shazam form.
Kalypso’s Villain Turn Foreshadowed More In Shazam 2 Deleted Scene
While initially, it seemed like the leader of the villain sisters known as the Daughters of Atlas in Shazam! Fury of the Gods was supposed to be Mirren’s Hespera, the movie threw in an unexpected twist that saw Lucy Liu’s Kalypso emerge as the true threat to the Shazam Family. One deleted scene would have foreshadowed Kalypso’s turn earlier in the movie by showing her brutally murdering an innocent person out of frustration for the Shazam Family getting away. The scene was likely cut due to it being rather dark for the family-oriented superhero movie, as the kill would certainly pack a punch.
Shazam 2 Deleted Scene Further Sets Up Pedro’s Sexuality Reveal
A deleted scene from Shazam! Fury of the Gods put the spotlight on Jovan Armand’s Pedro Peña. The scene helps flesh out Pedro as a character while also setting up Pedro’s sexuality reveal later on in the movie. The funny exchange puts Pedro in fear of his secret getting out while his family seems to be asking him to come out, which is not really what was happening at all. Moments like this one prove some of the secrets from Shazam! Fury of the Gods, either revealed by Sandberg or coming from deleted scenes, are interestings addition to the overall experience.
Source: Various links on Twitter (David F. Sandberg & Shazam Updates)
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