POWER POWER POWER

ZACHARY LEVI AND DAVID F. SANDBERG PULL BACK

THE CURTAIN ON SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS , THE ELECTRIFYING SEQUEL TO DC’S MOST JOYFUL AND YOUTHFUL SUPERHERO MOVIE.

BY ROSIE KNIGHT

Sandberg is excited that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is finally finished. “I’m very eager for people to see it,” he smiles.

In case you need a refresher on the first film, it introduced viewers to Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a young boy struggling through the foster system, who is chosen by a magical Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) to wield the powers of an array of Greek gods simply by saying the word SHAZAM. That magic word allows Billy to transform into a real-life —and fully adult—superhero (played by Zachary Levi), who takes his name from the acronym that gives him his powers. After battling the nefarious Doctor Sivana, Billy bestows his foster siblings with powers of their own. As Fury of the Gods begins, our teen heroes are finding their place in the world.

At the heart of both films is a magnetic dual performance from Angel as Billy and Levi as Shazam. It’s one of the most unusual and unique representations of superheroes that we have seen on screen. As Levi points out when we speak, he’s in a singular position. Sharing his performance with Angel, he still has to encapsulate both sides of Shazam. “Even though I look like the hero, I’m still the alter ego inside and I still behave like him. So I kind of get to do both, which is really fun and very different.”