Zachary Levi has shared his doubts about returning as Shazam in the new DC Universe (DCU), noting Fury of the Gods was "not as well received" as the character's live-action debut in 2019's Shazam, and admitting: "I have no idea where we go from here."
Fury of the Gods saw Levi reprise the role of Shazam opposite Asher Angel, who plays Shazam's teenage alter ego. However, the character was notably absent from James Gunn and Peter Safran's initial roadmap for "Chapter One" of the DCU, leaving fans wondering whether the sequel would mark the denouement of the series.
On The FilmUp Podcast, Levi cast further uncertainty over his future in the DCU as he reflected on the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The sequel, which hit digital less than a month after its theatrical rollout, failed to take off at the box office, grossing $133 million worldwide against a production budget of $125 million.
"The first one did well enough where they said, 'Hey, let's look into making a second one.' And then they pitched me the idea on it. I thought it was really fun," Levi recalled. "I really enjoyed making that movie, and I really enjoyed playing that part. I don't know what the future holds for it all because, unfortunately, the second movie was not as well received. The audience score is still quite good, but the critics' score was very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind."
Levi is right about the disparity between Shazam 2's Rotten Tomatoes critic score and audience score. The critic average currently sits at 49%, while over 2,500 fan ratings have the movie's audience score at 86%.
He admitted he is prone to being self-critical about his performances when watching them back. However, he left his first screening of Fury of the Gods feeling positive they had made another "really fun movie", though it soon became apparent some other outside factors had changed since the release of Shazam! in 2019.
"I've been a part of things, and as much as I wish they were good, I know they're okay," he shared. "I know that they miss a lot. And I'm not saying Shazam! Fury of the Gods is some perfect... Orson Welles-like masterpiece, but it's a good darn movie.
"I think even just the world, from the first movie to the second movie, the world has shifted so much. Social media has shifted so much. Hate, online hate and haters and trolls, and factions and all that has just gotten more galvanized in its toxicity," he added. "I think there are people who genuinely, unfortunately, want to destroy certain projects because they don't like them, or they don't like me, or they don't like other people involved in them or whatever."
Shazam! director David F. Sandberg previously responded to the sequel's middling critical reception by saying he is "definitely done with superheroes for now". IGN's review of Fury of the Gods gave it a "good" 7/10 rating, calling it "a breezy, often funny second outing for Billy Batson and his family of young heroes".
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
