A Shazam! 2 Teaser Dropped, And You Totally Missed It
It's not often that a new teaser for the next property in the DC or Marvel cinematic universes doesn't break 100,000 views within 12 hours, but that's exactly what's happened with the latest teaser for "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," the sequel to 2019's hit "Shazam!"
Posted on director David F. Sandberg's personal YouTube channel instead of any official outlets, although it's of course on other media channels as well, the 17-second teaser comes barely a week after filming for the sequel started (via CinemaBlend), having been delayed multiple times thanks to the pandemic. It shows the titular boy-turned-superhero in a dark room, showing off his new suit with dramatic camera angles and tense music.
Then, in true fashion to the original film's tone, Shazam (Zachary Levi) looks around and asks with a voice crack, "Why's it so dark? It probably would've been a good idea to have like, one light on."
The teaser appears to be a play on Dwayne Johnson's recent Black Adam tease
As hype around superheroes has grown from niche to money-making machines, marketers have struggled to create satisfying teasers and trailers that excite the average viewer while not giving so much away that dedicated fans can't find out the entire plot. Combine that with a wish to be perceived as more mature and edgy, and many have found the solution to be to make all early promotional material very, very dark.
This reached a new level a week or so ago, however, when an Instagram teaser for The Rock's superhero debut as Black Adam revealed a cloaked figure so shrouded in darkness that there was no real way to discern anything of substance at all. You'd be hard-pressed to guess that Dwayne Johnson was even the one under the cloak if it weren't posted directly on his page.
With darkness and edginess not being the style of "Shazam!," the teaser appears to poke fun at its sibling and the overall edgier side of superhero movies, promising just as much fun and even self-referential humor for the sequel as was in the original.
"Shazam! Fury of the Gods" comes to theaters June 2, 2023.