Dr. Thaddeus Sivana will not return in Shazam: Fury of the Gods. In an interview with Den of Geek, Mark Strong confirmed his absence in the movie, which is currently filming. This news makes sense considering the casting of both Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu in villainous roles. Having Dr. Sivana return in the sequel could be too complicated. Strong (who is hyping up his newest film Cruella) explained why he isn't the sequel.

"I literally spoke to the producer last night, because I saw that Zach Levi tweeted that they're about to start shooting in Atlanta. Dr. Sivana isn't in Shazam! 2. What's happened is, I think Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu and perhaps someone else - they've got some female villains in. And to be honest with you, I'm very happy to take a back seat to some female villains and let them have a go, because judging by the work that Emma Thompson and Emma Stone have done in Cruella, it's about time."

Having a couple of legendary actresses take over as villains in a major DC movie is certainly rare, so Mark Strong makes a good point. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu were both cast as Hespera and Kalypso respectively. Both are Greek goddesses (hence the title Fury of the Gods) and sisters with relatively neutral backgrounds in the comics, so it will be interesting to see how the movie showcases their villainy. As for the "perhaps someone else" that Strong mentioned, it's all pure conjecture at this point. Rachel Zegler was cast in an unknown role for the film, so it's possible she's the third villain.

The last time audiences saw Sivana, he was locked up at Rock Falls Penitentiary. In a post credit scene, Sivana was approached by an alien centipede named Mister Mind, who propositioned an alliance with Sivana in an effort to take over the Seven Realms (not to be confused with Marvel's Nine Realms). This scene heavily teased the return of both classic Shazam villains, but Strong says they will not be the focus of Fury of the Gods. Strong addressed this alliance in the interview after he was asked if he'd return in a future Shazam sequel saying, "Who knows? He's still got unfinished business with Mister Mind." If Shazam: Fury of the Gods fares well at the box office like its predecessor, fans will likely get to see the return of Sivana and the mysterious and weird Mister Mind - that is of course if Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam isn't the heavily rumored antagonist in Shazam 3.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods is confirmed to star Zachary Levi as Shazam, Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Helen Mirren as Hespera, Lucy Liu as Kalypso, and Rachel Zegler in an unknown role. David F. Sandberg and Henry Gayden are both returning to direct and write the film respectively. Shazam: Fury of the Gods will release only in theaters on June 2, 2023. This news originated at Den of Geek.