Zachary Levi’s reactions to box-office flop spark more DCU drama
The recriminations have begun Shazam! Wrath of the Gods‘ unheroic performance at the box office. And like everything to do with the DC Universe during this awkward transition period into a new era under DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran, it’s getting a little messy.
The Shazam Sequel star Zachary Levi has been on fire on social media, endorsing a story that the series has been watered down by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s power play to put his character Black Adam at the core of the setting. movie at DC, and agreed that fans of the Zack Snyder DC movies wanted his movie to fail.
On Tuesday, Levi posted an Instagram Story (captured for posterity by Home of the DCU on Twitterand verified via Polygon) quoting a report by The Wrap that Johnson vetoed the association Black Adam in Shazam! in the post-credits scenes, despite the characters’ canonical link to the comics. “The truth will set you free,” Levi commented, with an upturned grin on his face.
Citing two “high-level” sources, The Wrap reports that The Rock personally vetoed a post-credits scene for Black Adam which will show Levi’s Shazam being recruited to join the film’s Justice Society hero team, in favor of Henry Cavill’s now famous Superman cameo. Johnson is betting on fan appetite fueling Cavill’s return in a sequel iron man – which it almost did, until it didn’t – and perhaps thought that Superman would make a more prestigious opponent for his antihero than the goofy Shazam.
Additionally, The Wrap reports that when Safran and director David F. Sandberg tried to recreate the same post-credits scene for Shazam! Wrath of the GodsJohnson ruled out the use of either Black Adam Justice Society actors. Safran and Sandberg had to use two federal agents — members of Amanda Waller’s team from Gunn’s peacemaker series — to take on Shazam, rather than any actual JSA hero.
The Wrap piece, which, it’s important to note, comes at the perfect time in a heated moment of the blame game in Hollywood, with Johnson undermining both franchises by denying this link and insisting he misled that bet Cavill, and continues to trash the actor’s arrogance at length. But it’s debatable how much influence a post-credits scene has Black Adam — to perform better than Shazam! 2but still struggling to recover — may have in saving the film’s future fortunes.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Levi risked angering DC films’ most toxic fandom by agreeing review by a fan that Zack Snyder’s fans are “happy for your movie’s failure,” as a kind of punishment for Warner Bros. iron man, Batman vs. Supermanand justice league. (Gunn will bring Superman back in his upcoming Superman: Legacy.) In a now-deleted tweet, as Variety reported, Levi answered, “This is also true. Sad but true. How much of an impact it will actually have at the box office is anyone’s guess. But I think the biggest issue we have is marketing. It’s a perfect family movie, but many families don’t know it. That’s just embarrassing.”
On the last point, at least, Levi may have a point. The Warner Bros. is in the awkward position of releasing at least four previously produced DC films this year, even as Gunn and Safran are publicly talking about rebooting the franchise. While this summer The Flash is heavily boosted by major “Big Game” TV spots, vocal support from Gunn in his promotion of the new DCU slate, and even an alleged nod of approval from Tom “savior of the movies” Cruise, Wrath of the Gods has seen little of the same support despite the typical trailer dumps. It is not quite a Batgirl situation, but from the outside, the release looks like a legacy write-off.
Other members of Wrath of the Gods‘ The cast and crew publicly defended the film, although they largely took the safer and more conventional route of blaming critics for not picking it up. “On Rotten Tomatoes I just got my lowest critic score and my highest audience score in the same movie,” Sandberg tweeted, with a shrug emoji. “I wasn’t expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it’s a good film. Sure.”
Meanwhile, star Rachel Zegler tweeted“Hey, our movie is really good! […] Some people out and being… pointless. And it is unnecessary. […] It’s just cool to hate fun these days.”
Why is all this DC drama so… drama? As directors and actors are lost or left wondering what their future is under the new regime, and as a vocal fan base continues to make its presence felt, Warner Bros. is clearly struggling. to get everything in line with the company — to the extent there is one. With the launch of The Flash (starring controversial Ezra Miller), Blue Beetleand Aquaman 2 more to come this year, and Gunn’s tone-setting Superman: Legacy not due until 2025, it seems the chaos can continue.
One person, at least, is happy to leave everything behind. “One thing I’m really looking forward to is disconnecting the superhero discourse online,” Sandberg said. “A lot of that stresses me out and it would be nice not to have to think about that anymore.”
Read more
