Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg revealed how The Flash's delay impacted Shazam 2.
For a film about a speedster, The Flash's journey to theaters has been anything but fast.
COVID-19 and various behind-the-scenes issues yielded multiple release dates for the Ezra Miller-led film, and consequently, multiple delays.
While the original DCU plan was for The Flash to debut prior to Shazam 2, the final slate yielded a different result and severed an in-universe explanation between the two films.
Shazam Director Reveals Failed Connection to The Flash
In talking with Gizmodo, Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg confessed that The Flash's delay ruined a connection between the Ezra Miller film and Shazam 2.
In the sequel, Shazam and his family are sporting different superhero suits than when fans last saw them in 2019's Shazam!
When asked if there was a canon explanation for the Shazam family costume change, Sandberg claimed that, before it was delayed, The Flash resetting the universe "could be the explanation:"
"Yeeaaaaah. Because we were originally supposed to come out after 'The Flash' and, you know, 'The Flash' is going to play around with the multiverse and timelines and things like that. So in my head it was like, 'Well, that could be the explanation,' you know. That they always looked like this in this universe now that it’s changed."
After a lengthy pre-production slog, at one point, The Flash was supposed to debut in 2018. In the years since, the film has been rescheduled multiple times, including July 2022 and November 2022, and now finally June 2023.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods' release actually moved up at one point to December 16, 2022. But that was before it was pushed back to December 21 and then delayed to March 17, 2023.
In terms of what the suit change explanation is now, Sandberg says it's simply just "magic:"
"[But,] now that we can come out before Flash? You know... it’s magic."
Lastly, he noted that the film's flashback sequence may actually help audiences forget the flubbed Flash connection:
"Since we did change it in the flashback, you go 'Yeah, this is what they always looked like, right?'"
This isn't the first time Sandberg mentioned how the DCU reshuffle retconned his reasons for the Shazam family's new suits. The director actually said as much on Twitter, attributing the costume changes to "Barry [messing] with the timeline."
Are Fewer DCU Connections a Good Thing?
While The Flash could've served as an explanation for the Shazam's family new suits, unless the reason was literally spelled out in the film, most audiences probably wouldn't have drawn the connection.
Also, superhero costume updates are fairly common; and while they're explained sometimes, that's not always the case.
Therefore, while The Flash's rescheduled release did affect Shazam 2, it appears to be minor and one that Sandberg's flashback is sure to take care of.
Also, with James Gunn and Peter Safran's new reboot just around the corner, fewer connections between these remaining DCU films may actually be a good thing.
The question now is whether this was the only area in which The Flash's delays affected the Zachary Levi film and if actual changes had to be made.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods arrives in theaters on Friday, March 17.
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