Full spoilers ahead for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods Director David F. Sandberg revealed that Wonder Woman’s surprise appearance was part of the superhero movie from the beginning.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar ahead of the release of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie – read us Shazam! Fury of the Gods review if you haven’t already – Sandberg explained how Gal Gadot’s superhero found her way next.
From the start, Sandberg – alongside Shazam! 2 writers Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan – wanted Wonder Woman to be a crowd pleaser Fury of the Gods. As Sandberg explained to TechRadar: “No, this [Wonder Woman’s appearance] it was always in there [the script] from beginning.”
Although he wanted to include Gadot in Shazam’s second live-action outing, however, Sandberg was skeptical that Gadot and/or Warner Bros. would agree to include her in the film. How come? Sandberg has already been burned before – the director previously expected to land Henry Cavill’s Superman for a cameo in 2019 Shazam! before dropping out at the last minute.
“I had my doubts that it would actually happen,” Sandberg said. “That was because of what happened with Henry in the first movie, he fell apart and I had to use a stand-in and cut his head off. But yeah, Wonder Woman was always there, even though I didn’t think I’d get Gal.”
Wonder Woman’s cameo shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, mind you. Like Shazam, the DC superhero – real name Diana Prince – has ties to Greek mythology as she is the daughter of Zeus. Given Shazam’s ties to the Greek gods, not to mention the appearance of the rival Daughters of Atlas in Fury of the GodsShazam and Wonder Woman seem like a match made in heaven.
Well, from a team perspective, anyway. As Fury of the Gods shows, Shazam – or, rather, teenage Billy Batson – doesn’t get a chance to actually date Wonder Woman, even if the film teases him doing so in a fun dream sequence earlier in its run. As Sandberg revealed, Gadot’s appearance in the Shazam! 2 he was always just a cameo, meaning there was never another scenario where he featured more prominently.
“Gal never got a bigger role because, you know, we’re never going to get her!” Sandberg added. “We went a lot further with this movie, but it’s still Shazam. It’s a little smaller than other superhero movies, so I was glad I got it at all. It was like, ‘Finally, we’re going to have a DC cameo with an actual actor’s head in a movie!’ ».
“That also allowed us to do the scene with the Wizard’s head on Wonder Woman’s body to tease people. That’s something you can only do if you make her appear at the end. Otherwise, people would be f* ** *Leave and leave the theater unimpressed.”
Unfortunately for Sandberg, and the film’s cast and extended crew, the Wonder Woman film was unexpectedly spoiled before Fury of the Godsrelease. A TV spot for the film, released last weekend (March 11/12) confirmed her appearance in Shazam! 2 – a revelation that led Sandberg to tweet out a warning to his fans about the spoiler-centric ad, as well as any other major spoilers audiences might want to avoid before seeing the film on the big screen.
Well, there are some major Shazam spoilers out there now. If you want to go fresh, maybe don’t be on the internet or watch TV with commercials… Very good advice in general.March 11, 2023
It’s unclear why Warner Bros. decided to release Wonder Woman’s cameo in a TV spot. Perhaps studio executives were concerned that the upcoming DCEU film was underperforming at the box office and thought that revealing Wonder Woman’s appearance might make some viewers, who were probably on the fence about seeing it in theaters, they go to their local cinema to see how Diana plays a part in the plot.
Either way, it’s a fun cameo that gives Gadot definitive closure on playing the iconic superhero in the DCEU. New DC Studios co-head James Gunn confirmed (per IGN (opens in new tab)) that he spoke with Gadot about a possible appearance in his and Peter Safran’s new DC Cinematic Universe (DCU), with the first DCU projects revealed in late January.
It’s unclear if Gadot will reprise her role as Wonder Woman, however, or if she’ll be cast as someone else. If it’s the latter, Fury of the Gods may turn out to be one of her last appearances as the popular superhero.
For more DC-based coverage, learn how to watch DC movies in order. Additionally, read in depth Shazam! Fury of the Gods interview with Sandberg or read about which DCU movies and TV shows we’re most excited about.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now in theaters. Shazam!, which is one of the best superhero moviesin our opinion, it is available for streaming HBO Max.