dex14

General audiences don't know anything about the behind the scenes stuff going on. It doesn't matter to them.

fujishig

I'd say a ton of people know that Cavill isn't Superman anymore and that the Rock isn't Black Adam. Not that they mentioned Levi's character at all in Black Adam but if they can't put two and two together with the costumes and, you know, the same wizard and actual magic word, that would be something.

dex14

People who actively follow this stuff, sure. But there is a large portion of moviegoers who don't follow industry news. Maybe they heard something in passing about Cavill coming back and maybe they heard he's not. They'll see a new comic book movie regardless.

Why So Blu?

Fun trailer but I'm tired of the lame remixed hip-hop songs being used in said trailer(s).

SmackDaddy

I think the dismissal of Cavill and the "shut down" of the current continuity are more mainstream than you might think. Comic-book movies have grown a huge fanbase that is always looking forward to "next" and Shazam, Aquaman, Flash, Black Adam and likely Blue Beetle are now "dead" projects in that they will be ending unceremoniously with the next films.

This looks like it will be a lot of fun and we enjoyed the first quite a bit. It's a shame that WB has handled what should have been a positive (hiring Gunn to direct DC's future) and botched it by making premature announcements on the future of the existing films without have a plan in place yet.

RocShemp

Yeah, she should stick to art house fare, like the Fast & Furious movies.

Runaway

Will still don't know what the plans are for all properties. Shazam has no connection to the current DCEU, so it could live on and the Blue Beetle is a long shot either way.

RocShemp

Freddy had Daily Planet newspapers that showed the events of MoS and BVS. Then there's the Batfleck batarang and the headless "Cavill" Superman cameo at the end. Then again, much like Black Adam, there was also real world DC comics and merchandise on display. So maybe members of the Shazam family (even crazy uncle Black Adam, who never saw a wall he didn't Kool-Aid Man through) are collectively the Deadpool of the DCU?

Runaway

Yes, there are some easter eggs, but storywise there is no connection. The headless Superman is the best example that even back then, they didn't want that big of a connection and liek Aquaman it's a Safran production, so I'm not sure they'll end Shazam, if it makes money.

RocShemp

Wasn't the headless shot due to a scheduling and/or negotiation problem with Cavill?

PhantomStranger

Yes, Cavill wanted a firm deal from WB for another Superman movie at the time. It's why we didn't see him in Shazam.

SmackDaddy

That's kind of my point. People got super excited about the return of Cavill, the announcement of Gunn and then typical WB muddies it all up by having nothing in the way of an actual plan. I guess, if anything, Shazam would fit the "Gunn" template of not so serious takes on superhero movies.

Runaway

To me it looks like a communications problem and bad timing. The old brass didn't know Gunn was coming in or at least didn't know his plans. Getting Cavill back was the best move they had, considering they would go forward with the DCEU. Putting Cavill in Black Adam and The Flash was a clever move, based on the information available.
If Black Adam had come out later, Gunn probably would have scratched the Cavill cameo. We still don't know how the upcoming movies fit or don't fit into Gunn's plans. Blue Beetle should be out of the conversation. It's an unknown property, so far away from being released it might as well be the first project under the new regime, rather the last of the old one.
That leaves Aquaman, The Flash and Shazam 2. In my opinion it's a good thing for DC, those movies are still in the pipe. It'll be about two years before we get to see the first movie planned by Gunn and until then, they still need content.

But before I get to much of topic, there is a proper thread for the future of DC. I'm really excited for Shazam 2. The trailer looks pretty good, although I feel they are showing us to much of the story. It seems to me they are evolving from a fun action comedy, into a more serious tone.

DJariya

I liked the 2nd trailer better than the 1st one. The 1st one was more jokey, but this one sold more of what the conflict was.

RocShemp

Agreed. Though both trailers are good. However, it's weird that both trailers barely show Rachel Zegler, since the antagonists are the three daughters of Atlas and she portrays Anthea, one of said daughters.

DJariya

Freebie alert. If you see Shazam March 16th through 19th at AMC in Dolby, you will get a free Shazam! comic.

Twitter

Haven't reserved my ticket yet. March is such a stacked month. I have Creed 3, Operation Fortune and Scream 6 locking up my A-List reservations at the moment.

Why So Blu?

Nice. I have this one locked in IMAX for opening night.

dex14

stingermck

Which means Shazam is done. This one had no heat before the reboot announced and it certainly doesn't now. Black Adam didn't help either. If only Rock was in this one before a solo movie. Oh well.

Noonan

"As of this moment, he is our quarterback"

windom

I think this may suffer from lack of a strong marketable villain. From what I've seen, the villains are played by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu. They may be great, but that doesn't seem like it's gonna be a major draw for ticket buyers. I guess there's some monsters too that look like something out of the Eternals or Transformers.

Why So Blu?

I'm seeing this in theaters but I agree that the marketing has been horrid. And from what I keep seeing it's just gonna be Mirren and Liu making constant quips about those delicate mortals being so easy to kill. Here's hoping that the trailers are hiding the real meat and potatoes of what's going on. I remember the mid-credit sequence of the first film having that little magic worm talk to Mark Strong.

fujishig

I don't think these particular villains or this storyline comes from the comics at all, which kind of confuses me because, well, why? Mr. Mind may be corny but I'd much rather have him pulling the strings than whatever this is (and we don't even know what the backstory is at all yet, do we?)

RocShemp

Sandberg confirmed a while back that neither Mr. Mind or Dr. Sivana so much as cameo in this movie. It sucks but it makes sense since, in the comics, that duo resurrect Black Adam. At the very least, they should have been in that movie, pulling the strings all along.

As for the three daughters of Atlas, this is all I could find about them with regards this movie.

PhantomStranger

The Rock's ego and unwillingness to play Black Adam in a SHAZAM movie has pretty much sunk the franchise. I would enjoy this sequel and expect nothing more. Of all the DC properties, it boggles my mind they haven't done a modern cartoon for Captain Marvel and his family.