New Shazam 2 set photos show Helen Mirren in costume as Hespera

Shazam!
(Image credit: Warner Bros./DC)

The first look at Helen Mirren in costume as Hespera is here thanks to new Shazam 2 set photos.

The images come courtesy of Just Jared, and show the villain with Zachary Levi's Billy Batson. Check them out below.

While Hespera doesn't seem to have a counterpart in DC Comics, she is the daughter of the Titan Atlas in Greek mythology. That influence can be seen in the costume, with the character sporting what looks to be battle-scarred armor and an imposing headpiece. Atlas is also one of the sources of Billy's powers, with Shazam an acronym that stands for Solomon's wisdom, Hercules' strength, Atlas' stamina, Zeus' power, Achilles' courage, and Mercury's speed. 

Hespera won't be the only villain taking on the Shazam family, though. She'll be joined by Kalypso, played by Lucy Liu. Like Hespera, she's also a daughter of Atlas, and, considering the official title for the sequel is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, we can guess that the duo will create a formidable challenge for Billy and co. – though, in the new images, Hespera appears to be sitting down to eat with Billy.

Director David F. Sandberg recently unveiled the first official look at the Shazam family in their new costumes and revealed that Grace Fulton will now play both the regular and superhero versions of her character Mary. The suits are fairly similar to those from the first Shazam movie, but have some key changes: they're more textured, the shape of the lightning bolts are slightly different, and the capes are longer.

Sandberg has also said that Black Adam, who will be played by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in the DCEU, will not appear in the movie, as he has his own solo film in the works. Black Adam is slated for release in 2022 and will introduce the Justice Society of America to the big screen.

Shazam 2 is set to arrive June 2, 2023, while Black Adam lands earlier on July 29 of next year. Until then, check out how to watch DC movies in order to get up to speed on the DCEU so far.


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Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.