'Shazam!' director David F. Sandberg told comic book movie fans on Twitter that the new regime at DC Studios does not necessarily signal the end of his Zachary Levi-starring franchise.
'Fury of the Gods' was developed and filmed before James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios and overhauled the DC Universe. Does Levi's Shazam have a place in the new universe? It will depend on how 'Fury of the Gods' performs at the box office, the director says.
"Hey David, I don't feel like watching the movie because of the drama happening around DC studios," a Twitter user wrote to the director, reports 'Variety'.
"It is just killing the vibe of the film. There is a lot of uncertainty about DC's Future. Just give us an answer, whether Shazam will have a role in future DCU."
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Sandberg answered, "He definitely won't if people don't go see the movie. What I've been told is that there's nothing in the Shazam films that contradict the future plans for DC. So the possibility for more Shazam is there and if that's what you want your best bet is to go see the film."
The future of Levi's Shazam in the new DC Universe has been a question mark in the aftermath of Gunn and Safran pulling the plug on Patty Jenkins' 'Wonder Woman 3', Henry Cavill's Superman return in 'Man of Steel 2' and Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' sequel, three projects that would've belonged to the same movie universe as Sandberg's two 'Shazam' movies.
Following Gunn and Safran's DC takeover in December, Levi took to Instagram to defend the new studio heads and to urge DC fans to give the new CEOs "time to make something special."
"You have no idea the reasonings behind any of the decisions that are going on. The amount of conjecture and rumor mill and drama and nonsense that keeps getting spun around out there on Instagram and Twitter is laughable. It is unbelievably laughable," Levi said at the time regarding rumours of his own future in the new DC Universe. "So I would just say be patient, and give them some space and some time to try and really make something special."
"Listen, I have no idea what ultimately is going to happen to me," he added. "I think I'm in a pretty good position, I think we made a great movie, I think it's going to do well -- reasonably well, I hope so. But again, regardless of that, if they decide at some point that this is the way we gotta go -- them's the breaks, that's how it goes."
Gunn and Safran have already announced a first round of titles for their new DC Universe, and the slate does not include a third 'Shazam!' movie at this time. New projects include films such as 'Superman: Legacy' and 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow', among others. Gunn recently commented on a social media scandal involving Levi, who posted an anti-Pfizer tweet on January 29.
"Just real simply: Actors and filmmakers that I work with are going to say things that I agree with and things that I don't agree with," Gunn said. "And that's going to happen. I don't have a list of things that somebody should say because of what I think. And you know, I can't be changing my plans all the time because an actor says something that I don't agree with."
"By the same token, if somebody's doing something morally reprehensible then that's a different story,a Gunn added. "We have to take all that stuff into account. It's a balance. It's a modern world and it's a different place."
'Shazam: Fury of the Gods' opens in theatres on March 17.
