DC's Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Zachary Levi declares that the upcoming sequel is better than the first outing, noting that the much larger budget, the familiarity with the characters, and the sheer quality of the movie’s villains have resulted in an even more enjoyable cinematic experience. While Levi is quick to communicate his pride in the first Shazam!, for him things clicked together just a little bit better this time around.

"I will say that I genuinely — and this is not just lip service — I'm really proud of the first one, I think we made a really, really good movie. I think the second one is better. I think that we had more time, we had more budget. We had, essentially, the entire cast returning, and we all knew our characters a little bit more; we could kind of sit into them a little bit more. Henry Gayden, who wrote the first script, wrote the second, and he did a fantastic job doing so. Everything just clicked even a little bit more and a little bit more.”

Zachary Levi, who will reprise the title role as the superhero alter-ego of teenager Billy Batson, goes into further detail regarding why he feels that Shazam! Fury of the Gods will top its predecessor, believing that, due to the young characters now being slightly older, the filmmakers had more freedom to make the movie more mature. Levi is so excited for audiences to see Shazam! Fury of the Gods that he wants the movie to come out as soon as possible...

“And also the kids have grown up a little bit more, so even the sensibilities of them become even slightly more mature which brings it closer to my or other people's adult minds, so there's even more connection there, I think. The action's great, the comedy's great, the relationships are great. The bad guys, Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, are fantastic. I'm very proud of it. I want it to come out sooner than June of 2023."

Released back in 2019, the first Shazam! introduced audiences to Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a troubled orphan searching for his biological mother, who is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam as his champion. When he speaks the word "Shazam" he is transformed into Zachary Levi, his superhero alter-ego, who possesses "the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury".

Not much is yet known about the direction of the sequel, but based on the title, the gods have seemingly been left rather unhappy about something. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is also likely to have a much bigger role for the titular hero's adoptive family, all of whom were imbued with superpowers during the first movie's exciting finale. Both Asher Angel and Zachary Levi will return to reprise the roles of Billy Batson and Shazam respectively, with the likes of Faithe Herman, Meagan Good, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Ross Butler, Jovan Armand, and D. J. Cotrona also due to return. Jack Dylan Grazer will also reprise the role of Billy's best friend, Freddy, with Adam Brody portraying the character's adult superhero form, with Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu on board as the villains.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is scheduled to be released in movie theaters in the United States on June 2, 2023. This comes to us from Collider.