With the DCEU inching toward its end, Shazam! Fury of the Gods was one of the last movies to fall under DC’s old regime and following its release, the movie has opened to mixed reception. But even though the positives of the film mostly outweigh its flaws, fans can feel the absence of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam from Shazam’s story.
Considering the importance and history of the pair, it’s understandable why fans are disappointed by Johnson’s exclusion from the sequel. But it appears that David F. Sandberg doesn’t share any regrets over the exclusion of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam from the sequel.
David F. Sandberg doesn’t regret the absence of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam in Shazam 2
In his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, David F. Sandberg expressed his viewpoint over the absence of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam from the movie. To everyone’s surprise, the director stated that they weren’t much bothered by the character’s absence in the movie, as he thought it wouldn’t have brought anything new to the table.
Considering that Black Adam comprises the same powers as Shazam, the director thought it wouldn’t have been interesting as they have already followed that trope with Dr. Sivana in the first movie. He said,
“No, not really. The thing about Black Adam is that he has the same powers as Shazam, and we did that in the first movie where we gave Sivana [Mark Strong] the same power. So I don’t think the fight itself would’ve been super interesting”
Even though Sandberg stated that it might not have been a super interesting battle between the two. He admitted that it was a missed opportunity and would have been exciting to witness Zachary Levi’s Shazam facing off Johnson’s Black Adam.
David F. Sandburg admits that the absence of Black Adam was a missed opportunity
Although the fight between the two wouldn’t have been much special in itself, it’s pretty reasonable to pair these two characters, considering their history that dates back to their inception. But following Dwayne Johnson’s reluctance to be involved in the Shazam sequel and his desire to face off against Superman did lead to the character’s absence from the sequel. The director expressed his disappointment by stating,
“I do think it’s a missed opportunity. What makes the most sense is to have them fight each other, so it’s money left on the table. But it’s how it is.”
But despite The Rock’s absence from the movie, the sequel did pretty well to stand on its own. Although it isn’t clarified whether the characters’ will be moving forward to James Gunn-led DCU, fans will hope to witness these characters again in the new DCU.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently playing in theatres.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
