Shazam 2 really is important for Zachary Levi if he wants to continue as Shazam! The box office performance of the sequel will determine whether Shazam is fit to be part of Gunn-Safran’s DCU. Well, the start is certainly disappointing. Shazam 2 is projected to earn only $43 to 52 million in its opening weekend of three days. It would certainly be the highest grossing film nationwide on that weekend but that is not a win. The sequel’s highest estimate won’t even breach the first film’s $53.5 million opening, which was DCEU’s lowest opening at that time. Less than a month before releasing in theaters, Shazam 2 clearly has some work to do in order to earn more money than its predecessors. This is the era of sequel dominance, even a comparable comic book film like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania earned over $100 million opening weekend despite poor reviews.
The sequel is most likely to be financial failure which would definitely put Zachary Levi’s future as Shazam! in jeopardy. DC has been trying to promote the film, in the attempts to do so the writer of the film has been making appearances in podcasts and stuff like that. In one appearance he revealed one of the main characters in the film is gay.
Which Shazam Character Is Gay?
In an interview with Dorkaholics, Shazam! Fury of the Gods screenwriters Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan revealed that one main character from the foster family is gay. The writing duo discussed that the sequel would definitely explore Pedro Peña, Billy Batson (Shazam)’s foster brother, being gay. Gayden explained that, “The only new addition for this movie is being a lot more forthright about Pedro being gay. And that was hinted at in the first movie very subtly. And I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that and bringing that to the fore in this movie.”
Pedro’s sexuality was hinted at in the first film when the family happens to land in a strip club and Pedro says that is not his thing. That was very subtle but it looks like the upcoming sequel would address this directly, “We figured out from the very beginning that it was about ‘how does Billy operate in a world where he actually has a family’’and use that as the internal conflict emotionally and then how do you externally best dramatize that story as he comes up against something that challenges that. And in particular these villains, I think are kind of a dark reflection of three people who also lost family in their life and don’t feel that he deserves what he has now, which threatens everything.”
Gayden talked about how the sequel will incorporate teenage humour, “Henry has a facility with the teenage mindset and voices and humor that I’ve never found in anybody else. I wish I could write that. I genuinely cannot so I’m kind of in awe of it. His character work is definitely the cornerstone of this franchise and it’s uniquely him.”
Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods is slated to release theatres near you on 17th March 2023.
If you have any questions regarding Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
