The future of the DCEU is continuing to shape up – from that thrilling first Wonder Woman 1984 trailer, to production kicking off on The Suicide Squad, and Harley Quinn’s fantabulous emancipation on the way in Birds Of Prey. Now, Warner Bros has confirmed a sequel – and a date – for this year’s Shazam!, the teenage-kid-turns-super-man-child comedy that proved a fun, witty treat. The film benefited from a giddy performance from Zachary Levi as the powered-up form of runaway teen Billy Batson, and he’ll be back in the spandex on 1 April 2022. And no, that’s not an April Fools joke.
The first film fared fairly well at the box office on its April release, pulling in $364.6 million worldwide – and while that’s a smaller haul than plenty of other superhero movies, this one also came from a smaller-than-average $80 million-ish budget. Plus, those keeping tabs on DC’s upcoming releases will notice that Shazam! 2 is now dated just months after the December 2021 release of Black Adam – the Shazam! spin-off anti-hero movie that casts Dwayne Johnson as a more nefarious version of the magical superhero. We’ve seen time and time again how Johnson can super-charge a franchise – and if we’re being set up for a Shazam vs Black Adam showdown in the sequel, that could well be a star-powered attraction.
It’s unconfirmed yet whether director David F. Sandberg will return, but with a date now in place look out for more Shazam! 2 news in the coming months.