Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg has opened up on the lack of a Shazam and Black Adam crossover in the DCU.
Black Adam is a regular foe of Billy Batson's in the pages of DC Comics, but in the movies, the two have never crossed paths – and with the universe shortly rebooting for DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, it seems unlikely that they ever will.
"No, not really," Sandberg told The Hollywood Reporter, when asked if he was disappointed at not getting the opportunity to explore Black Adam and Shazam's relationship. "The thing about Black Adam is that he has the same powers as Shazam, and we did that in the first movie where we gave Sivana [Mark Strong] the same power. So I don't think the fight itself would've been super interesting, but I do think it's a missed opportunity. What makes the most sense is to have them fight each other, so it's money left on the table. But it's how it is."
Originally, Black Adam and Shazam were set to debut in the same movie, but Dwayne Johnson revealed that he made a phone call to switch things up. "I said, 'I have to share my thoughts here. It's very unpopular…' because everybody thought, 'Hey, this script is great, let's go make this movie,'" he told Vanity Fair. "I said, 'I really think that you should make Shazam, make that movie on its own in the tone that you want. And I think we should separate this as well.'"
But, Johnson has admitted that he won't be playing Black Adam again anytime soon, and there is no Shazam 3 on the Chapter One release slate. That leaves the future of both characters completely up in the air.
Shazam 2 is in theaters now. For much more on the DC movie, check out our spoilery deep dives on:
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- The comic history of the Shazam Family explained
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- The comic history of Shazam and the Justice Society
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