SHAZAM! Star Believes Franchise Will Likely Only Continue If It's "With A BLACK ADAM Thing"

Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Jack Dylan Grazer has addressed the franchise's future after the sequel bombed last year and is convinced that Shazam will only return if it's alongside The Rock's Black Adam.

By JoshWilding - Apr 01, 2024 04:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Source: CBR

Jack Dylan Grazer played Freddy Freeman in 2019's Shazam! and took on an even bigger role in last year's Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

The first movie was a critical and commercial hit, but the sequel fell short on both fronts and kicked off what proved to be a disastrous final year for the DC Extended Universe in theaters. Even Black Adam, a movie deemed a "flop" by some, managed to outperform it in 2022.

Grazer recently spoke with CBR and admitted that he doesn't expect the Shazam! franchise to continue.

"I don't know, man. I don't want to steal the thunder from [my new series] Spiderwick [Chronicles], but I will say probably not," he said of a possible third movie to conclude the trilogy. "I don't know if there was an article that [director] David Sandberg posted, he said, 'I will never make another superhero movie again.' Because I guess Shazam! 2 tanked."

"I liked it. I thought it was a good movie. I liked it, but box office was like, 'Suck this.' Whatever," Grazer continued. "If it happens, it happens, and I think that if it does happen - and who's to say that my word has any authority - but if it does happen, it will probably be from a Black Adam thing. Black Adam will invite Shazam into that world."

That might have happened once upon a time, but even Dwayne Johnson found himself sidelined when DC Studios was formed. Of course, the actor and pro wrestler never had any intention of sharing the screen with Zachary Levi's Big Red Cheese!

"James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling," The Rock said of his DCEU departure early last year. "However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters. These decisions made by James and DC leadership represent their vision of DCU through their creative lens."

We're sure new versions of both characters will eventually make an appearance in the DCU, though James Gunn doesn't appear to be in any rush. Creature Commandos is coming later this year and SUPERMAN in 2025, but beyond that, DC Studios is very much taking its time with future projects.

Check out the full interview with Grazer in the player below.

Shazam! star Jack Dylan Grazer tells @djkevlar that if there's a future for Shazam in the DCU, he believes Black Adam will be the key. pic.twitter.com/vWhVlKzQ5y
— CBR (@CBR) March 31, 2024

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33 Comments

PantherKing - 4/1/2024, 4:29 AM

April fools eh…

lazlodaytona - 4/1/2024, 8:49 AM

@PantherKing - I thought it'd be an April Fool's article but I'm pretty sure the dude was telling the truth.

FireandBlood - 4/1/2024, 4:31 AM

He was a great Freddy Freeman and the best part about both movies, neither of which were bad with the first actually being really good.

But if WB were smart, and they’re not, but if they were, they’d segue Shazam to animation, as the character and his goofy loving world was always going to be a harder sell in live-action but could really thrive with benefits that comes along with animation.

lazlodaytona - 4/1/2024, 8:50 AM

@FireandBlood - I'm a huge fan of the first. Sadly, the second? Not so much.

ObserverIO - 4/1/2024, 4:47 AM

I finally caught up with the second one and it was worse than I thought. I liked the first one and even though I had no interest seeing the second one unless it was for free and I was doing nothing else and had nothing else to watch (which finally happened) I didn't think it was gonna be BAD bad, but it kinda did go that way. I wanted it to be good, but it really was quite dreadful. Maybe not Madame Web dreadful, but not as watchable as I thought it would be.

lazlodaytona - 4/1/2024, 8:52 AM

@ObserverIO - It makes it hard when you work with kids and young teens and want to do a sequel due to the fact that kids grow up fast between films.

Timerider - 4/1/2024, 1:09 PM

@lazlodaytona - you know how to fix that, you write a trilogy, 3 scripts, shoot them back to back, with a short break in between them. Robert Zemeckis did that with Back to the future 2 & 3, because Fox was getting older between films after a 4 year hiatus.

lazlodaytona - 4/1/2024, 3:14 PM

@Timerider - i was gonna say, Fox got older too. He was already 23 in part 1. Then, part two he was 28...yet, for some reason he's always kept that young look. He shot the 3rd one concurrently while he was 28....yet still looked like a kid.

I became a teacher at 21 and almost until 28, people assumed I was a student at the school when I was actually a Jr. High school educator. Then I went to the elementary and none of the students questioned my age...., because, as I told them, I'm much taller than you, so, I am in charge :D

Long story short, unless u have a dude like Fox who never seems to age, you are correct. Sequels and trilogies need to be shot back to back to back so the kids/early teens don't start to look too old.

oh, and I hate manure.

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TheUnworthyThor - 4/1/2024, 5:33 AM

Black Adam did itself and Fury of the Gods a huge disservice by not having much stronger connections to Shazam.

ProfessorWhy - 4/1/2024, 5:33 AM

Disappointed this article didn't employ the word " Shazamily "

99OPTIMISTPRIME - 4/1/2024, 6:01 AM

I could see there maybe being a live-action or animated Shazam TV series, in like 10 or 20 years. I don't expect to ever see the franchise appear in theaters again.

Blergh - 4/1/2024, 7:53 AM

@99OPTIMISTPRIME - had a fun idea to keep the budget low for a third movie: make it 75% animated.
The live-action segments start out with Mr. Mind taking over the mind of Black Adam and using the Wizard's magic to "take over the world", we then find the Shazam family in an animated enviroment fighting Black Adam & Mr. Mind. The movie ends back with the live-action segments and Shazam teaming up with Adam to take out Mr. Mind.
That would save a LOT of budget and they could finish the trilogy out. Get Levi/Johnson for limited live-action appearances and mostly for voice parts and give the whole thing a 15M budget.

JonAwesome - 4/1/2024, 6:29 AM

The best thing Shazam 2 had going for it was more Grace Caroline Currey!

CyberBishop - 4/1/2024, 1:13 PM

@JonAwesome - Yes plz.

Blergh - 4/1/2024, 6:49 AM

Could certainly try for a "Shazam vs. Black Adam" movie but I'm not sure the Rock still has the star power needed to carry this.

lazlodaytona - 4/1/2024, 8:55 AM

@Blergh - I think that might have worked with 2 things:

1. "Shazam vs Black Adam" as the sequel to the first Shazam
2. Throw Cavil's Superman into the mix like that animated short that came out years ago.

gtabreaker - 4/1/2024, 6:51 AM

TheVisionary25 - 4/1/2024, 7:02 AM

I haven’t seen Fury of The Gods yet but as a big fan of the first one , this is dissapointing though not really surprising to hear since it didn’t do well at the box office.

I wish we had gotten Mister Mind in the sequel to payoff the end credit tease of the first one but I guess since they knew that they couldn’t use Adam by then decided to save him & The Monster Society most likely for a probably third and final one.

Oh well , I’m interested to see if Gunn retains Levi though since they are friends otherwise it could be real awkward…

I like Zach in the role so I wouldn’t mind but I think they might just start fresh when they introduce the DCU Shazam.

HermanM - 4/1/2024, 7:35 AM

Both movies were pretty shit versions of the character since they were based off of the awful New 52.

Also, what was that noise he made at the beginning of the interview? "MhmmmMMMMMMMM" ?

Strange.

Forthas - 4/1/2024, 7:36 AM

Today is the start of the month that DC studios can now be sold. Fingers crossed this happens or is at least announced and this is the beginning of the end of the line for James Gunn!

PartyKiller - 4/1/2024, 8:16 AM

Shitzam is done!

OrgasmicPotatoe - 4/1/2024, 8:41 AM

"SHAZAM! Star Believes Franchise Will Likely Only Continue If"

Alright, let me stop you right there, it won't. The first movie was alright, second one sucked and tanked at the box office. Now the whole cinematic universe is getting rebooted. There's no way in hell that this movie gets a saving grace from another box office and critical flop, which also lost its star, from the same dead cinematic universe.

STINGRAY - 4/1/2024, 8:45 AM

"SHAZAM! Star Believes Franchise Will Likely Only Continue If It's "With A BLACK ADAM Thing"

-----Well it SHOULD BE a 'Black Adam thing'!
Black Adam is THE quintessential 'Shazam!" villain.
It was asinine that they made a movie with a cadre of heroes OTHER than Shazam (Captain Marvel, dammitt!!) fighting Black Adam, and even brought in Superman at the end to tease a never-gonna-happen fight.

it is hard to imagine more STUPID planning than the Black Adam movie exemplifies.

Ha1frican - 4/1/2024, 9:10 AM

Reboot with Alan Ritchson.

TheVisionary25 - 4/1/2024, 9:22 AM

@Ha1frican - that’s a damn good pick!!.

Honestly prefer that over him as Batman.

Timerider - 4/1/2024, 1:14 PM

@Ha1frican - he’s too old, need someone around 22-24 years old when doing the reboot.

The1st - 4/1/2024, 4:47 PM

@TheVisionary25 - He's got that BTAS build and chin though, but that's imo.

marvel72 - 4/1/2024, 9:20 AM

Don't rate either movie very highly, so I can't see another happening.

SuperJefe - 4/1/2024, 9:32 AM

Even though Shazam seems right up Gunn’s alley for off-beat characters and villains, I doubt we’ll see him again for awhile. But I’m glad we got a live action version…I’m a big fan of the big red cheese pre-New 52.

MisterDoctor217 - 4/1/2024, 9:40 AM

His character was a highlight in the movies, dude is so charming and always seems to be in a sugar rush lol
He’s like a young Dylan O”Brien actuallly 🤔

Anyway the said thing is, this whole Shazam franchise could have worked if The Rocks’s ego had gotten out of the way and they could have made him an antagonist in the sequel, rather than him getting his own movie for whatever reason.

Probably would have been better received.

slickrickdesigns - 4/1/2024, 10:27 AM

Black Adam vs Shazam could work but they need to lose the Rock as his agenda to be an “Anti Hero” is no bueno… there are plenty of better actors to play Black Adam and while their at it they can recast Shazam as well.

RubyRhod - 4/1/2024, 11:32 AM

Reboot in 20 years, Like Superman IV Quest For The Peace, style

DocSpock - 4/1/2024, 1:13 PM

Yeah right.

Check back in 20 years dumba$$.

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