‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ director explains how the fans can have their say on whether or not the hero joins the DCU

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Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

What a time to be DC fan; with James Gunn well on track to deliver the Gods and Monsters chapter of the rebooted DCU with Peter Safran, fans are no doubt foaming at the mouth with anticipation for the arrival of Superman: Legacy, Swamp Thing, The Brave and the Bold, among numerous other projects.

On the other hand, fans of the current universe, and SnyderVerse zealots especially, are foaming at the mouth for different reasons. With a whole year’s slate of pre-Gunn DC films still needing to run their course before the reset, plenty of folks seem to be worried that checking them out will only lead to diminishing returns.

One of these is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the Zachary Levi-led epic that will pit the eponymous Billy Batson and the Shazamily against the Daughters of Atlas. Indeed, given the absence of Shazam from the announcements made by Gunn, one may wonder if Fury of the Gods is the end of the line for the hero on the big screen. Director David F. Sandberg, however, was happy to take to Twitter to deliver some insider tips on how to increase Shazam’s chance of showing up in the Gunnverse.

He definitely won’t if people don’t go see the movie. What I’ve been told is that there’s nothing in the Shazam films that contradict the future plans for DC. So the possibility for more Shazam is there and if that’s what you want your best bet is to go see the film. https://t.co/MdjZuGK4co

— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) February 28, 2023

According to Sandberg, a poor box office turnover for Fury of the Gods is a surefire way to put Shazam on the backburner for the DCU reboot, and we’re struggling to disagree.

The exchange opened up a whole other can of worms on what seems to be an obsession with continuity and cinematic universes, with a perceived public fixation on what’s coming next rather than what’s happening now.

People only caring about interconnecting movies is ruining the enjoyment of watching a movie for its own merits. Why would someone not enjoy a movie directed by David Sandberg unless it is connected to a movie directed by someone else?

— Shawn S. Lealos (@sslealos) February 28, 2023

I wish people would just see a movie to enjoy a movie, not to see “what’s next”

— Codey Dauch (@codeydraws) February 28, 2023

We suppose the moral of the story, if there is one, is to see the movies you want to see; be it for the sake of Shazam’s cinematic future or simply wanting to watch a movie out of excitement, all viewing motives are welcome so long as the ticket is bought.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will release to theaters on March 17.