With only a week to go before the theatrical debut of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, a new TV spot that apparently spoils Gal Gadot’s cameo as Wonder Woman has been making the rounds.
Early responses after the premier for Shazam! Fury of the Gods last March 9 were very promising. However, some industry analysts are tracking it to make around $43 million to $52 million on its opening weekend.
Could this be a last-minute attempt at building hype for one of the last DC Extended Universe movies? Read on for the details revealed so far.
The Shazam! Fury of the Gods TV Spot was widely seen during an episode of WWE Smackdown. While it has not been made available online, fans who caught the TV Spot have recorded parts of it and shared on social media platforms such as Twitter:
Wonder Woman in new #Shazam trailer! #ShazamFuryOfTheGods #WonderWoman #GalGadot #dcu #dccomics #JamesGunn #zacksnyder #HenryCavill #batfleck #batman #thebatman pic.twitter.com/VxqgsPhJ4G
— HecThor (@Hek_th0r) March 11, 2023
The clip included in the TV Spot is very brief. It shows the Shazam family seeing and interacting with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman on a rooftop. Plus, she has a line stating "Stick to saving the world, kid", which seems to be directed at Billy Batson in his adult Shazam form (played by Zachary Levi).
Interestingly, Gadot is wearing the Wonder Woman 1984 version of the costume. This is evident with the brighter colors and more pristine appearance compared to the muted colors and battle damage on the Zack Snyder version.
What is surprising is this cameo was initially being kept under wraps. Rumors had also circulated that the cameo was being removed in order to line up with the DCEU reboot to the DC Universe. A similar rumor had been circulating online regarding the cameos of Gadot and Cavill in The Flash.
So why the sudden revelation of the Wonder Woman cameo? This would not be the first time the DCEU had an oddly timed spoiler, such as Doomsday and Wonder Woman being spoiled in the trailers of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). And even the first Shazam! movie had a Superman cameo, albeit with a body double of Henry Cavill that did not show his head during the end credits.
One point of speculation for spoiling the Gal Gadot cameo for Shazam! Fury of the Gods is that it was already revealed with a Funko Pop listing. Another possible reason is that the sequel to the 2019 film is tracking for a lower box office opening than the original.
Even the film’s director David F. Sandberg begrudgingly confirmed in a tweet that the spoiled cameo is a marketing decision to improve the superhero movie’s box office chances:
Well there’s some big Shazam spoilers out there now. If you want to go in fresh maybe don’t be online or watch tv with ads… Pretty good advice in general actually.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) March 11, 2023
Does this spoiler of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman cameo help or hurt the box office for the film? We will find out soon enough when Shazam! Fury of the Gods arrives in theaters for its worldwide release on March 17, 2023.
