The DCEU may have recently suffered a setback after Birds of Prey disappointed at the box office despite strong reviews, but Warner Bros.’ shared universe is guaranteed to bounce back given that the next two installments in the franchise are Wonder Woman 1984 and The Batman. The future of the series is a mix of sequels, reboots and whatever hybrid of the two The Suicide Squad ends up being, with one of the only new faces set to be Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, which has spent years stuck in development hell.
One of the most exciting projects on the calendar though is Shazam! 2, after the first movie turned out to be the most critically-acclaimed entry in the entire DCEU, with the lighthearted adventure marking a refreshing change from the doom and gloom that permeated the early, Zack Snyder-driven years. If you recall, Henry Cavill was originally set to make a cameo as Superman, but the role ended up being played by a stuntman instead. A new rumor, however, is now saying that he could finally show up in person for the sequel.
While Cavill’s future as the Big Blue Boy Scout isn’t exactly clear-cut despite the actor publicly declaring he wants to continue in the role, it seems as though all of the pieces are falling into place for Superman to pop up in Shazam! 2. Black Adam hits theaters just four months before Billy Batson’s second solo outing, and the two arch-nemeses are already being set up to square off in Shazam! 3. Dwayne Johnson has also made it clear that he wants to face off with Superman at some stage, too, and if you bring the world’s highest-paid movie star into your franchise, chances are he’s going to get what he asks for.
Not only that, but Cavill is managed by Dany Garcia, who just so happens to be Dwayne Johnson’s ex-wife and co-founder of his Seven Bucks production company. Star Zachary Levi has already admitted his excitement at the prospect of butting heads with both Superman and Black Adam in the future as well, and a cameo by the former in Shazam! 2 could go a long way to setting things up to make his wish become a reality.