It’s no secret that Warner Bros. is banking on Shazam! – so much so, in fact, that it appears the studio is already making plans for a potential sequel. Or sequels, according to producer Peter Safran.
As part of Entertainment Weekly’s ongoing coverage, the outlet sat down with Safran to discuss Shazam!, its titular hero, and the ways in which the 2019 superhero flick differentiates itself from its DC peers. Spoilers: it has something to do with the child-like wonder funneled through the young Billy Batson, who is granted near-limitless power by a mysterious old wizard fast approaching the end of his tether – think Big, albeit with a superhero twist.
Because anytime Asher Angel’s hero utters that magic word, he transforms into Shazam!, a DC hero who is seemingly destined for a big future in Warner’s franchise. Or so says Safran, who confirmed early sequel plans while chatting to EW:
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Shazam play a role in the DCU. We have plans in place for sequels that take into account those realities.
That’s not all that surprising, really, particularly when you consider that the DC Extended Universe has been reconfigured in light of Justice League. And so, as the franchise braces for a defining Phase 2 (see: Aquaman and Wonder Woman 1984), the focus for Warner Bros. appears to be on standalone movies, rather than fretting over continuity and wildly ambitious crossovers.
All of this bodes well for Shazam!, too, given David F. Sandberg’s character-driven spinoff was designed to be inherently different from its DCEU predecessors. The first-look trailer is all set for a premiere at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, and we’ll have full coverage the moment it’s live.