Zachary Levi’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods was heavily anticipated, and the excitement surrounding the film was immense. However, when the movie was released in theatres all the excitement was lost and died down pretty quickly, as the film did not meet the expectations of the fans and critics. The sequel had a 49% Rotten Tomatoes score, and the critics called the sequel unfocused and less satisfying than the first film.
However, according to Zachary Levi, the film’s failure was due to poor marketing and little to no advertisement for the sequel, leading to no information for casual movie watchers. But Levi, defended his superhero sequel as his film had a higher audience score of 86% which is more than Chris Hemsworth’s Thor: Love and Thunder, that is, 77%.
Zachary Levi Continues To Remain Sour For His Sequel’s Failure
Zachary Levi’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods was a refreshing movie that DC fans get to watch a great action comedy, the sequel which was released in the March of 2023 earned $132.9 million worldwide at the box office at a budget of $100 million. However, many believe that the film had underperformed was the reason that the DC Studios are in dire need of James Gunn’s creative vision.
The Blood Fest actor who had reprised his role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods is still figuring out why his sequel did not resonate well with movie enthusiasts, despite the first film doing so well at the box office. The actor was a guest on The Film Up Podcast, where Levi talks about the performance of his film.
“I don’t know what the future holds for it all because, unfortunately, the second movie was not as well received. The audience score is still quite good, but the critics’ score was very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind.”
Zachary Levi continued that his film is not meant to be high art that needs a lot of understanding and his film is just a piece of light entertainment.
“I’ve been a part of things, and as much as I wish they were good, I know they’re okay. I know that they miss a lot. And I’m not saying ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ is some perfect, Orson Welles-like masterpiece, but it’s a good darn movie.”
However, the actor concluded by saying that the future of his franchise is in question, as James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the entire franchise.
“I have no idea where we go from here. I just hope that or believe that history will show… it will be one of those things that people will go back, people will watch ‘Fury of the Gods’ on home streaming or on a plane or whatever, and it will be this movie that they heard so much shit about and then they will be like, ‘Well, wait a minute.’”
While Levi’s future as Shazam in James Gunn’s DCU remains uncertain, the actor would soon sit with the DCU bosses so that he can discuss, if he will be a part of their plans in the near future.
Zachary Levi’s Future in The New DCU Looks Bleak
Levi’s entry to the DCU gave a new look to the dark genre of films that it had been featuring over the years. However, Warner Bros. had mismanaged its DC films so that it can not go back to the first phase. As a result, Zachary Levi’s time in DCU came crashing down, and in the rebooted canvas of Gunn’s DCU, there’s no news of Levi being a part of it. And the Chuck actor states that he will sit down with the DCU boss regarding his future.
“I’m gonna sit down with James and Peter soon enough, and we’ll talk about it. The success of the second movie will determine a lot.”
However, there has been speculation among fans as the end of John Cena’s Peacemaker, there was a cameo where Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt went to recruit Shazam! which sparked rumors but nothing came out of it.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods can be streamed on Max.
Source: The Film Up Podcast
