“Shazam: Fury of the Gods” director David F. Sandberg was admittedly disappointed to the reaction to his latest film and he’s ready to take a break from superheroes…
“Shazam: Fury of the Gods” — the direct sequel to the surprise “Shazam” film that earned over $366 million at the box office — has not been received well by critics or audiences.
The film fell flat at theaters during opening weekend earning just $30.5 million in North America, which is a disappointment considering the movie cost $110 million to make with another $100 million spent on marketing. The “Shazam” sequel also sits at a 53 percent combined rating on the aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes versus the first film that received overwhelming positive reviews with a 90 percent score.
Perhaps “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” just fell short with audiences due to the massive turnover at DC Studios where new co-CEO’s James Gunn and Peter Safran have already laid out ambitious plans to create a whole new shared universe and some already completed films like this one, “The Flash” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” are still scheduled for release even if many of the characters aren’t expected to return again in the new extended universe.
Either way, “Shazam” and “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” director David F. Sandberg was understandably disappointed by the reaction to his latest film, which is why he’s excited to take a break from comic book movies and return to a genre like horror where he got his start with movies such as “Lights Out” and “Annabelle Creation.”
“On Rotten Tomatoes I just got my lowest critic score and my highest audience score on the same film,” Sandberg wrote on Twitter. “I wasn’t expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it’s a good film. Oh well.
“As I’ve been saying for a while now I’m very eager to go back to horror (as well as trying some new things). After six years of Shazam I’m definitely done with superheroes for now.”
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Sandberg continued by praising his time working with the cast and crew on both “Shazam” movies but he ultimately feels like it’s time to move out of the superhero world, especially given the overwhelming attention that gets paid to these movies — both good and bad.
“Just to be clear, I don’t regret even for a second making the Shazam movies,” Sandberg wrote. “I’ve learned so much and gotten to work with some truly amazing people. Will forever be grateful that I got to direct two of these! They’ve been very challenging but valuable experiences.
“One thing I’ve really been looking forward to is disconnecting from the superhero discourse online. A lot of that stresses me out so much and it will be nice not having to think about that anymore.”
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Considering the muted reaction to the latest “Shazam” movie, it’s tough to see DC ordering a third film in the series, especially given the larger makeover the entire shared universe is about to receive. Gunn and Safran laid out ambitious plans across film, TV and animation over the next few years while launching new versions of characters such as Superman and Batman, which will have zero ties to past films such as “Man of Steel” or “Justice League.”
No matter what, Sandberg seems ready to perhaps scare audiences again because he’s definitely hanging up his cape and tights for now.
