DC has always been much happier to push boundaries more than their Marvel counterparts. While it isn’t likely that Shazam! Fury of The Gods will become an R-rated affair, we are about to see the movie deliver more adult humor, thanks to many of the characters having grown since we last saw them in 2019’s Shazam!. The original film focussed on a group of youngsters who, through gifted powers, were able to transform into adult superheroes, and because lead character Billy Batson – played as a youngster by Asher Angel and in Shazam form by Zachary Levi – was a child, there was a certain innocence about the whole film.

While Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ plot is being kept locked away for now, the family dynamic of Billy Batson and his fellow heroes will become central to the movie. That dynamic is going to lead to some more adult humor with many of the characters now being in their late teens and coping with more adult issues that life throws at them. Producer Peter Safran explained in an interview with IGN that they “lean into the idea that Asher’s 17 going on 18,” and the comedy of the movie has to evolve with that aging. He said:

“I love what we've done with it. I like that the kids are a little bit older so that you can lean into a little more adult humor and also just adult stakes and adult issues that one deals with it at 16 and 17 that you don't deal with at 13 and 14.”

Shazam! Avoided Being As Serious As Other DCEU Superhero Movies, But Will The Sequel?

Shazam’s light and airy feel, which almost made it sometimes seem more like a parody of the superhero genre than a serious film that could at any point see a crossover with the likes of Aquaman or Batman. However, now that the lead group of characters are heading into adulthood, it stands to reason that while the Shazam movies could remain the “Ant-Man” of the DCEU, things are not going to be quite as innocent as first time out.

Star Zachary Levi recently told Collider that he could not wait for the movie to arrive in cinemas, and really wishes it could be released earlier than its current June 2023 premiere date. During the interview, Levi even went so far as to see he believes that the sequel is better than its predecessor thanks to the increased budget and more mature feel. He said:

"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. 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. I'm very proud of it. I want it to come out sooner than June of 2023."