Following the Oscars success that Zack Snyder's Justice League earned in March 2022, Warner Bros. now looks forward to a big year of new content on the big screen. The year will finish with David F. Sandberg's Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, succeeding one of the most well-liked movies by fans and critics in the entire DC Extended Universe.
Shazam! 2 brings back its impressive cast of characters from the original 2019 film as Sandberg directs his second DCEU project, which should up the ante in every way imaginable. Throwing together half a dozen powerful heroes against god-like villains played by Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler, this sequel has the opportunity to truly bring a new level of storytelling.
On top of Shazam! 2's prospects in theaters, fans are also wondering when DC will tackle another Justice League project, especially with only one canon Justice League movie in the DCEU to date. However, if and when that eventual sequel arrives, fans now know who likely won't be in the director's chair for it.
Shazam! 2 Director on Justice League Aspirations
During an "ask me anything" session in his Instagram stories, Shazam!: Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg addressed his future with the DCEU and his work on the Shazam! sequel.
When asked if he would ever direct a new Justice League movie, Sandberg admitted that the expectations would probably be "too big" for him:
"I think that would be too big for me. Too much expectations as well."
Another fan asked if he was alright with Shazam! 2's current release date of September 16, to which Sandberg expressed happiness that "it's coming out this year." Although he doesn't expect it to top the box office charts opening up against Avatar 2, he's glad to not have to wait more than a year for its release:
"I’m very happy it’s coming out this year. Would have been a bummer to finish the movie and then just wait until next summer. Definitely not expecting to open #1 against Avatar but that’s fine."
Avoiding spoilers for his next movie, Sandberg also teased that he's excited about how "a lot of the visuals are turning out." The director praised the VFX team for their work behind the scenes and referred to them as some of the top professionals on Earth:
"One thing I’m really excited about is how a lot of the visuals are turning out. There’s some really cool stuff in it by some of the top vfx vendors in the world."
Sandberg also included a behind-the-scenes image of the Shazam family, including Matt Brody, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Fulton, Zachary Levi, Ross Butler, and Meagan Good:
No Justice League 2 for David Sandberg
For everything that's come out of the DCEU and everything that's on the way, the Justice League topic is still a tough one with regards to the franchise's future. After the disaster that was 2017's Justice League and everything else that came from Zack Snyder's director's cut on HBO Max, there are no signs pointing to if or when Warner Bros. will revisit the team-up franchise.
Whenever that day comes, it seems that David Sandberg isn't throwing his name into the pot to be its next director due to the massive expectations that would come into play. Although he has plenty of experience now with his own style of team-ups thanks to the sheer number of heroes in Shazam! 2, tackling a story with Batman, Superman, and more would be something beyond what Sandberg wants to do with DC movies.
Now, the attention turns to Fury of the Gods as it aims for its new release date at the end of the year, with Sandberg thrilled to see it releasing sooner than expected. Even though the prospects of going up against Avatar 2 at the box office aren't ideal, seeing it come to the big screen sooner rather than later is more than favorable for the director.
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods will debut in theaters on December 16.
