‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ proves who the king of Marvel and DC really is

Next month, Shazam! Fury of the Gods will release, marking the first film to arrive under the watch of new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, but one returning cast member will be continuing their comic book hot strrak.

Specifically, by appearing as the wizard Shazam, Djimon Hounsou adds to a lengthy run of appearances in Marvel and DC projects, which may make him an actor who has appeared in the most across the board. While fans know he popped up in Shazam!, will be in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and was also in Black Adam, he was also in Aquaman in 2018, too.

Here, he played King Ricou, though he was unrecognizable as himself onscreen, while he was also in the 2005 film Constantine, as well, where his role was more major as opposed to his brief supporting spots in other projects. Then, there’s the Marvel bits.

Hounsou’s run with the dominant cinematic universe began in 2010 with a Black Panther animated series which aired on BET for one six-episode long season. At the time Marvel was just getting its infrastructure off the ground (so this is likely why more was not done), but as DC has kept actors within their family by reusing them on television after earlier turns in film (John Glover on Smallville after his turn in Batman & Robin) Marvel has done the same.

Hounsou became Korath the Pursuer in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, and has since reprised the role in Captain Marvel and What If …?. He says he took the role after hearing his son say he wanted to be light-skinned so he could climb walls like Spider-Man and, while what he will do next remains to be seen, Hounsou has won over fans with his career choices, with one online saying he is someone who has sophisticated cultural interests.

What will happen next with his characters remains to be seen, though. There is always a chance his Papa Midnite could return in the planned Constantine sequel, while he could also get yet another character to his name as fans don’t seem to mind his versatility and. One thing is for sure, no one else has done as much as the Oscar-nominated entertainer has with the small roles he has been given.

At least, so far. There is always a chance someone else could break out in the same way.