Summary
Zachary Levi broke his silence on the negative reviews and criticism garnered byShazam! Fury of the Godsafter its March 2023 release. The film, which set a record as the DC Extended Universe’s lowest-grossing entry, has become what many consider the Zach Snyder-led franchise’s final whimper.
Four years after the first film’s events and the defeat of Thaddeus Sivana,Shazam! Fury of the Godssees the ‘Shazamily’ face off against the Daughters of Atlas (who seek revenge against the Wizard for killing their father) while battling the sibling pressures of growing apart as they age and find their way as individuals. The film packed a lot more action than the first installment and featured a more prominent cameo from a major DCEU star, and star Levy wasconvincedShazam 2was better than the firstfilm.
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However, following issues related to the looming reboot of the DCU and other fan concerns, the film was released to mixed reviews and box office results that were evenworse than the bleakShazam 2projections. Speaking on theFilmUppodcast, Levi discussed his feelings aboutShazam 2and the negative response to the film. “As an experience, 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,” Levi said. “I mean, the audience score is still quite good, but the critic score was, I don’t know, very oddly and perplexingly low and people were insanely unkind.”
Levi also addressed the positive creative atmosphere surrounding the sequel after the first film, which received praise forhaving more depth than other DCEU filmsat the time. “I mean, the first one did well enough where they say, ‘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 said. “Even before they pitched me on that idea, I was talking to Walter Hamada, I mean ‘Shouldn’t we do something with, you know, the Greek gods and stuff considering that I have all that stuff running through me?’ And then, of course, that’s exactly what we ended up doing, which was really fun.”
Shazam! Fury of the Gods' failure was a death knell for the Snyderverse, a fact that seemed to amplify the moderate issues the project had to almost comical proportions in the minds of some. While Warner Bros Entertainment tried to get a handle on the decline and even released thealternateShazamending for free on YouTubein a bid to redirect attention to the franchise’s standalone power, the project has only garnered more disdain in the leadup to James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU.
The issue that plaguedShazam! Fury of the Godsin its reception is not an isolated occurrence. WithBlue Beetlealready on track to be another domestic box office flopfor DC and WBD and Marvel Studios' latest Disney Plus project similarly setting record lows for the company, it seems that genre fatigue is in full swing for audiences and critics with no clear path back to the pre-pandemic golden period.
Shazam! Fury of the Godsis available for streaming on Max.
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