‘Black Adam’ and ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ footage premieres at Comic-Con
By Scottie Andrew, CNN
DC Films fans were treated to new footage from “Black Adam” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, and stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zachary Levi were both on hand with surprises up their superheroic sleeves.
Levi, who plays Shazam, led the first half of a panel that would later see Johnson, dressed in his Black Adam costume, appear to levitate while smoke and lightning surrounded him.
Read on for new details and plot teases from the upcoming films. (DC Films shares parent company Warner Bros. Discovery with CNN.)
‘Shazam’ trailer introduces Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu
In the trailer for the upcoming “Shazam!” sequel, Levi’s hero is in a funk. He compares himself to the most popular DC heroes, including Batman and Superman, who admittedly do have decades of fame and butt-kicking to their names.
“I don’t deserve these powers,” he muses. “What am I even contributing?”
(Quick “Shazam!” primer here: The hero is actually a teenage boy named Billy who transforms into adult superhero Shazam, played by Levi, who summons the power of multiple gods when he says his name aloud. His whining here makes more sense when you consider his true age.)
To lighten the mood, the trailer introduces Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren as villains “Daughters of Atlas,” who appear to want to take back the “power of all the gods” that Shazam and his teenage buddies “stole” to become adult superheroes.
We don’t know yet how Shazam and the gang will defeat these wicked women, but we do see a glimpse of Rachel Zegler (Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story”), whose character looks to be an instrumental part of the growing franchise.
‘Black Adam’ broods
The new “Black Adam” footage that Johnson dramatically introduced was somehow even moodier than that of the teenage Shazam: “My powers are not a gift but a curse,” Johnson’s Black Adam grumbles.
Later, after Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo and a winged Aldis Hodge appear in the trailer, Black Adam gets even gloomier: “The world needed a hero. Instead, it got me.”
Jeez, Adam; leave the brooding to Batman! The plot particulars of “Black Adam” are still mostly unknown, but we know from comics that Black Adam is an antihero or villain, depending on who you ask, who can also tap into Shazam powers. Both super-powered men bear the same lightning bolt on their uniforms, though Adam’s is sullied by mud, dirt and inner turmoil.
“Black Adam” will be released October 21, and exactly two months later, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” hits theaters.
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