SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods trailer debuts

trailer provides some new insight into the plot of the 2019 film.

Zachary Levi's Shazam appears to be having a sort of identity crisis and growing feelings of inadequacy. The trailer has the superhero speaking about his lack of uniqueness, particularly with other superheroes in the DCEU as well as his own family whom he has shared his powers with. The zinger in the trailer is that instead of a therapist, Shazam is apparently talking to a pediatrician.

The rest of the trailer shifts to the meatier part of the movie, which is the conflict against the gods. Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), the daughters of the titan Atlas are hunting their sister Anthea (Rachel Zegler) who has escaped to Earth. The pair of goddesses brings havoc into the world, not the least of which by bringing into battle magical creatures such as dragons. A welcome surprise is the return of the Wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) after fading away in the first movie.

As Atlas is one of the mythical beings that Shazam derives his powers from (along with Solomon, Hercules, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury), the involvement of the Shazam family is a given. On that note, family is a key element that will be played up in the course of the movie. There is even a good-natured jab at how The Fast and The Furious franchise emphasizes it in a scene with Levi and Mirren (who has co-starred in the more recent entries of The Fast franchise). Snyderverse lives? The biggest reactions from fans of the DCEU are the clips used from Aquaman and the Justice League films. The Shazam! Fury of the Gods trailer featured footage that showed Jason Momoa's Aquaman, Ezra Miller's Flash, and Ben Affleck's Batman while Levi's Shazam was comparing himself to these other established superheroes.

It is notable that the footage is from the Zack Snyder cut (indicated by the darker colors and desaturation). The Flash footage, in particular, was from the turning back time sequence that won the Oscar Cheer Moment. Some fans took to social media, seeing this as a potential sign that the Snyderverse is still canon:

One eagle-eyed fan even noticed a particular piece of merchandise connected to Zack Snyder:

Overall, the Shazam! Fury of the Gods trailer looks promising, with a more upbeat tone and bigger superhero action scenes than the first foray. Will the much rumored Henry Cavill/Superman, Gal Gadot/Wonder Woman, and Dwayne Johnson/Black Adam appearances take flight in the Shazam! sequel? Stay tuned for further updates.

Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! Fury of the Gods stars returning cast members Zachary Levi as Shazam; Asher Angel as Billy Batson; Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman; Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy; Ross as Super Hero Eugene; Meagan Good as Super Hero Darla; D.J. Cotrona as Super Hero Pedro; Grace Caroline Currey (also known as Grace Fulton) as both Mary Bromfield and Super Hero Mary; Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley; Ian Chen as Eugene Choi; Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena; Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez; Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez; with Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard Shazam. New additions to the cast are Rachel Zegler, with Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren.

Produced under New Line Cinema, DC Films, and The Safran Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Shazam! Fury of the Gods arrives in international theaters December 15, 2022 with a North American release on December 21, 2022.