DC’s Shazam! 2 which was released on March 17th worldwide did not quite light up the screens. The film opened to lukewarm responses with a 50 percent rating on Rotten tomatoes. The sequel to Shazam! has been through its share of controversies that included accusations of nepotism towards James Gunn for his wife Jennifer Holland’s cameo and the omission of a much-awaited Black Adam crossover involving Dwayne Johnson. In addition, the lead star Zachary Levi’s alleged anti-vax comments and his insensitive celebration on Twitter on the day of John Wick star Lance Reddick’s demise has added more fuel to the fire.
With Shazam! 2 fizzling out at the box office, it looks like Zachary Levi is doing damage control to salvage his film and more significantly his reputation. The Chuck star has spoken candidly about the challenges that the Shazam! franchise faced including Henry Cavill’s Superman cameo.
Zachary Levi Reveals Shocking Details About Shazam! 1 and 2
Zachary Levi is doing everything he can to resurrect his film Shazam! 2 which has failed at the box office. The actor who plays the boy turned superhero, is now revealing staggering truths behind the scenes of both films to defend his image. The Alvin and the Chipmunks star addressed the headless Superman cameo controversy in the first film with a bombshell statement, saying,
“All of you fans who love Henry Cavill, we tried desperately to get Henry Cavill in the first movie. He wasn’t a headless Superman because we wanted him to be a headless Superman. We were thwarted. All of these hardworking people were thwarted. We were not allowed to have that happen.”
These comments are especially significant after DC head James Gunn has been heavily criticized for ousting Henry Cavill as Superman from the DC franchise. This decision was not received well by DC buffs and Cavill fans.
!! Spoilers Ahead !!
Shazam 2 and the Black Adam Controversy
Zachary Levi is speaking candidly about many inside decisions that affected the reputation of his film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. One of these scoops included the controversy surrounding Dwayne Johnson’s film Black Adam. Originally, the end credits scene was to involve a crossover of characters from Black Adam and not Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt from the Peacemaker. But Zachary Levi made a stunning revelation stating,
“That was not the original intent. The original intent was to have Hawkman and Cyclone be there inviting me into the Justice Society. Walter Hamada, Peter Safran, David Sandberg… we had an awesome scene and we were thwarted”
This statement comes after James Gunn was accused of nepotistic behavior involving his wife and actor, Jennifer Holland. But Levi’s comments indicate that the DC Head was not instrumental in this decision. While the Shazam! star did not openly reveal the person responsible for Hawkman and Cyclone’s absence, many sources feel that the actor has indirectly alluded to Dwayne Johnson. It has been reported that Johnson has shown intent to star in a new DCEU storyline that involves an exclusive face-off between Black Adam and Superman, which meant that he wasn’t keen on any of the characters in his film being part of small crossovers.
Source: Twitter
