Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Zachary Levi has seemingly confirmed a report that Black Adam headliner Dwayne Johnson was the reason planned cameos between the two properties fell apart. The report on the cameos' fate came in light of the recent underwhelming premiere of Shazam 2 in the twilight of the old DCEU.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the sequel to 2019’s Shazam!, an origin story for the eponymous hero that shows how the orphaned Billy Batson is chosen by an ancient and powerful wizard to become his champion and endowed with the abilities of six gods, transforming him into a hero when he says the magic word. The film was well received, a sequel was quickly confirmed, and work was undertaken, with delays and rescheduling leading to the film releasing months after Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam debuted to mixed reviews from critics.
While the news was still making the rounds as speculation, Shazam! Leading man Levi seemingly confirms Johnson nixed cameos between Black Adam and Shazam 2. On Instagram, Levi reposted the report with the added caption, “The truck shall set you free." The report alleges that Johnson held back all efforts to tie the two comic book rivals and vetoed more than one planned cameo. For instance, when Shazam 2 attempted to include the Justice Society of America in a post-credits scene where they recruit Shazam (a similar scene for Black Adam was nixed by Johnson), Johnson reportedly stepped in to stop the cameos, resulting in Peacemaker characters making an appearance instead.
The confirmation from Levi essentially validated reports that had thrown Johnson under the bus for Shazam 2's box office failure. Johnson was likely the previously unspecified hand behind the film’s last-minute changes. David F. Sandberg, the filmmaker behind the Shazam movies, had previously eluded to this in response to a fan query on Twitter about the cameos. “...It was supposed to be other characters, but that fell apart at the last minute, so Peter Safran (also produced Peacemaker) pulled some favors," Sandberg wrote. "As a fan, I was happy to have them in the movie (even though it’s perhaps a bit weird that they’re the ones recruiting for JS).”
It has long since been public knowledge that Johnson was not interested in having Shazam and Black Adam meet, having lobbied for his character to be kept out of the first Shazam! film, with many noting that he seemed to dislike Shazam just as much as his Black Adam character does in the comics. The situation is made all the more ironic because Johnson was only given his far-reaching and final authority because he was seen as a final great hope for the DCEU, only for Black Adam to fail that charge.
While the original plans to connect the Black Adam and Shazam 2 films would have certainly gone a long way to boost the incentive for both, it is possible that too much flak is being thrown at Johnson. One reason is that while it made it into the movie unhindered, the high-profile Wonder Woman cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods created a massive DCEU plothole that would have retroactively applied to and adversely affected Black Adam. Additionally, the announcement of the Gunn/Safran slate for the first phase of their rebooted DCU rendered all unaffiliated projects except The Flash pointless, linking Black Adam and Shazam! meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, both films seem to be victims of the DCEU's long and messy path to a new vision.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is available in theaters now.
Source: Zachary Levi/Instagram