Like most people who have been waiting anxiously for Shazam: Fury of the Gods, you must be floored by the recent Warner Bros. decision to move the blockbuster’s release date from this December to March 17, 2023. While DC fans can no longer wish for a theatrical Christmas present, the movie’s director David F. Sandberg took to Twitter to join in the frustration, but also to guarantee that there is a silver lining to the date switch.
In a brief tweet, Sandberg called himself an “impatient bastard” and admitted that he wants people to see the movie “as soon as possible”. However, he told readers that pushing back Shazam: Fury of the Gods makes sense because in December the blockbuster would have to fight Avatar: The Way of Water for IMAX/PLF screens. According to the filmmaker, the highly anticipated James Cameron sequel is taking up all of the biggest screens available, and since Shazam: Fury of the Gods is a big movie, it’s worth waiting to see it on the biggest screen possible.
The decision also makes sense financially: As of today, Shazam: Fury of the Gods stands tall as the biggest release for the March 17 slot, and it’s arguably the biggest release of that month. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves might be a dark horse, but it comes out two weeks before, and whatever noise it makes will have died down a fortnight later. A week after Shazam, John Wick: Chapter 4 premieres, but it’s an R-rated title that won’t steal PG audiences from the DC blockbuster.
Another important piece of information revealed by Sandberg in his tweet is that Shazam: Fury of the Gods will be fully completed in just a few weeks. This might mean that we’ll get to see an additional trailer with more exciting footage soon since the movie’s advertising campaign will certainly be extended to contemplate these extra three months that fans are kept waiting. In an additional tweet, Sandberg also made a funny acknowledgment that the new release date is “still three months earlier than our first release date” – back when the pandemic hit, a lot of releases got moved and Shazam was pushed to June 2, 2023.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to feature a trio of villains played by Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler. The trio will play multiple daughters of Atlas, one of the gods who bless Shazam (Zachary Levi) with his powers. In the first movie, it was established that Billy Batson (Asher Angel) inherited the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. So, with the daughters of Atlas showing up for the sequel, it looks like the DC Universe is ready to dive into the character’s mythology.
You can check out David F. Sandberg’s tweet below:
Watch the latest trailer for the movie here: