In 2019, DC Studios released Shazam! after several years of production. The film, which served as the seventh installment of the then-DC Extended Universe, went on to gross over $360 million on a budget of $100 million. It was also well-received by critics, many of whom praised its tone, actors, and directors. The film's success led to a spin-off, Black Adam, which was released last year, and a sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods is slated to arrive in cinemas this month.
During a recent interview with Total Film magazine, David F. Sandberg, who directed 2019's Shazam! as well as its forthcoming sequel, discussed his experience as the film's director. In his words, "It's like a mini-Avengers movie… That's how I saw it because there are so many characters. You have all these heroes, you have the villains, you have the monsters… It's a lot of movie packed into its runtime. And it's complicated. Just shooting and staging up to 11 characters in a scene... Where do you put everyone? It's really hard!"
Sandberg also revealed that, compared to the first film, Fury of the Gods is bigger than its predecessor in every possible way, including scale and scope. He revealed they had more resources to work with which enabled them to make a film that is capable of competing with other superhero films for action and scale. Despite the bigger budget, Sandberg stated that Fury of the Gods is still very much a film about a kid and his family.