Warning! This text comprises spoilers for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
The director of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, David F. Sandberg, explains intimately the film’s Marvel Girl cameo. 2019’s Shazam! included a headless cameo of Superman after the film didn’t movie scenes with Man of Metal actor Henry Cavill. Now, Shazam! Fury of the Gods pokes enjoyable on the first film’s DC cameo whereas additionally managing to safe the return of Gal Gadot as Marvel Girl.
Talking with Collider, Sandberg defined intimately how Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ Marvel Girl cameo got here to be.
Based on the director, Shazam! Fury of the Gods went by way of the identical course of with Marvel Girl that the primary film had gone by way of with Superman. Whereas the Shazam 2 trailers spoiled Marvel Girl’s cameo with Gadot, no person was anticipating Diana to have such an integral function within the film in such brief time, with the heroine reviving Shazam himself. Sandberg was nervous that the vital deliberate Gadot cameo would fall by way of and had a backup plan in place. Take a look at the complete quote under:
I imply, the humorous factor was, within the first film we have been gonna have Henry [Cavill] present up as Superman. Then, once we have been taking pictures that scene, they have been like, “Effectively, Henry is just not gonna make it on this present day, so we’ll shoot it with a stand-in after which we’ll have to choose up his protection afterward.” It is like, “Okay…” So, we shot it like that, after which the Henry factor fell aside and we could not do it. So we needed to simply use the stand-in footage, and that is why it ends earlier than you see his face.
So for this one, Marvel Girl was within the script and I used to be like, “It is not likely gonna occur.” I imply, it is smart due to the mythology and the Greek gods and every thing, however it’s like, “I do not consider it is gonna occur.” After which, once we have been taking pictures that scene, or the vast majority of it, it was the identical factor, like, “Oh, you are gonna should shoot with a stand-in after which we’ll choose her items up as a result of she’s not gonna make it right here to Atlanta right now.” (…) Can we’ve [Helen Mirren’s] character really survive? It is gonna be so lame if she reveals up.” However that was form of my Plan B.
However then it really occurred and we have been really capable of shoot together with her, which made me very completely satisfied.
Why Marvel Girl’s Shazam 2 Cameo Was Higher Than Superman’s
Superman’s cameo in Shazam! was candy sufficient, with the hero exhibiting as much as have lunch with Freddy and Shazam at their college’s cafeteria, paying off a plot level from the film. On paper, it was a scene that’s inherently Superman, portraying him maybe nearer to the comedian books than any of the previous DC canon motion pictures did with Cavill. Nevertheless, the issue with that scene stemmed from the dearth of exhibiting the hero’s head, as Cavill didn’t shoot scenes for Shazam!
Shazam! Fury of the Gods handles Marvel Girl higher by giving the character two scenes within the film, the primary of which is a direct nod to the unique’s headless Superman scene. Early on within the movie, Billy Batson desires that he’s on a date with Marvel Girl, whose face is just not proven, just for the Wizard to astral mission himself onto Marvel Girl’s physique to speak to the child. Hilarity ensues, and whereas the sequel had one of many worst DCEU opening weekends, it turned clear that the film knew precisely methods to deal with its wider connections to the DC Universe.
Whereas the primary Marvel Girl scene poking enjoyable at Shazam!‘s headless Superman was entertaining, it was the second look of the character — a full-on second with star Gadot — that cemented her contribution to the film being extra vital than Superman within the unique. The primary headless Marvel Girl scene was paid off when Gadot herself appeared because the character by the tip of the film, utilizing her godly powers to revive the magic to the Wizard’s employees and resurrect a just lately deceased Billy Batson. Even when Shazam! Fury of the Gods cut up critics/ audiences over the film, the notion that the movie dealt with Marvel Girl appropriately is undisputed.
Supply: Tamera Jones/Collider