Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
DC‘s newest cinematic entry has arrived with the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Directed by David F. Sandberg, the second Shazam! movie sees Zachary Levi return as the titular superhero as he wrestles with the thought that he might lose his family. At the same time two Gods, Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Hespera (Helen Mirren) seek to reclaim the power that the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) stole from their father, Atlas.
You come to expect a few things from superhero movies now that they are so prevalent. There are the usual tropes of the hero saving the day and then there are the references to other projects. Fury of the Gods does have a few of these cameos but you might be wondering if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam appears in the movie. Black Adam is Shazam’s most formidable foe after all, so you might be expecting him to show up.
Does Black Adam appear in Shazam! Fury of the Gods?
Despite being the main villain of Shazam! in the comics or at least the most famous one, Black Adam does not appear in the movie. In fact, he isn’t even mentioned even though the last film in the DC Extended Universe was Black Adam. It’s unknown why they didn’t want to connect the two films, maybe they didn’t know if Johnson would want to return, or maybe they preferred to keep his rivalry with Superman instead.
But, just because he doesn’t make an appearance in the movie, it doesn’t mean that the films aren’t connected at all. The wizard Shazam returns in Fury of the Gods as he did in Black Adam. In addition to the wizard, the post-credits scene sees both Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) return. Both characters were in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker while Harcourt appeared in Black Adam.
They appear in the film to ask Shazam about joining the Justice Society, which was introduced in Black Adam. The Justice Society was the superhero group led by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge). So, while Black Adam himself isn’t mentioned, this might be the most overt reference to the events of that film. It isn’t too surprising, as the director previously stated that the films weren’t really connecting saying “Black Adam was sort of doing their own thing” about the 2022 movie.
Were you hoping that Black Adam would make a return in Shazam! Fury of the Gods? It didn’t really need it as the movie was jam-packed with characters already. Although, it does seem weird that the character wasn’t referenced at all.
You can catch Shazam! Fury of the Gods in theaters from March 17, 2023.
