DC fans are three weeks away from the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. As such, the marketing for the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2019 film Shazam! has been quickly ramping up. There are a lot of exciting things to look forward to with this upcoming DC film like the return of director David F. Sandberg or Zachary Levi back in the heroic title role, but arguably, one of Fury of the Gods biggest selling points is the addition of Rachel Zegler. The West Side Story star will be playing the villain Anthea, the youngest daughter of the god Atlas. Now in a new clip, we see Anthea meeting Shazam Family member, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), for the first time.
The 30-second clip is the classic love at first sight scenario for Freddy with our hero bumping into Anthea in the hallway at school. After endlessly apologizing to one another, a couple of school bullies try to get on Anthea’s good side, but in typical Freddy fashion, he informs her of the pair of teenage rejects’ various humorous medical conditions. This leads to Freddy getting punched out which leaves Anthea impressed and calls Freddy a hero.
With the marketing mainly focusing on Anthea’s older sisters up to this point, this new clip is the best look at this new DC villain yet. However, given how adorable the scene is, it’s hard to see Anthea as a villain. Maybe that’s just the charm of Zegler taking over, but you can’t deny the actress' amazing chemistry with Grazer. This scene is unbearably cute and shows the start of one of the key relationships in Fury of the Gods. Also, this sweet interaction features a surprising Batman Easter egg. The teacher who breaks up the fight is none other than Diedrich Bader who has voiced The Dark Knight in various animated series like Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Harley Quinn. He’s also voiced other famous DC characters like Lex Luthor, Solomon Grundy, Booster Gold, and Zeta. Just like how the first Shazam! included Smallville actor John Glover, Fury of the Gods looks to honor DC’s rich history in more ways than one.
What’s the Plot of ‘Fury of the Gods’?
Fury of the Gods picks up after the events of the first film with the Shazam Family coming into their own as the DC Universe's newest superhero team. However, the daughters of Atlas, new characters created for the film, look to change all that. Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea claim the Shazam Family stole their power which stemmed from their god-like father. They want their powers back by any means necessary which leads to our heroes going down one by one leaving only Billy Batson aka Shazam to stop them.
However, Anthea looks to be the wild card of this film and the key to stopping her sisters from defeating DC’s favorite superhero family. From all the marketing thus far, especially given this new clip, there seems to be a lot of humanity in her character that Anthea’s sisters just don’t seem to have. Her romantic connection with Freddy might make her see the light and go against her own family, helping save the world in the process.
When Does ‘Fury of the Gods’ Release?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods releases on March 17, 2023. It promises to be a more action-packed superhero adventure with godly imagery, dragons, and unicorns, but Zegler’s Anthea is the prime example of this sequel expanding upon the great emotional heart found in the original which helped make it a modern genre classic. While we wait to fall head over heels for Freddy and Anthea, you can view the new heartfelt clip down below.