Spoiler alert: The following post discusses the ending of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” (in theaters now), so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.
Zachary Levi’s young-at-heart superhero saved the day again in the sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” But more importantly, the dude finally met his comic-book crush and made some plans for the future.
The DC Universe is preparing for a major reset and the latest “Shazam!” outing sets a foundation for its main character’s return down the line.
Here’s what the “Fury of the Gods” finale and two end-credits scenes tell us about DC’s superhero future.
Surprise! Wonder Woman is back and resurrecting the dead
Teen-turned-superhero Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel as a kid, Levi as the magically transformed buff adult) points out his love for Gal Gadot’s Amazon several times in the movie, even dreaming of going out on a dinner date. But he finally gets a chance to meet her after sacrificing himself to save Philadelphia in a climactic finale. When his family holds a memorial service for Billy, Wonder Woman shows up, unleashes the magical power of Zeus, and Billy comes back to life and crawls out of the dirt. He tries to ask her out when she leaves, but gets this snappy response instead: “Stick to saving the world, kid.”
With a third “Wonder Woman” movie scrapped, Henry Cavill’s Superman run at a definite end and Ben Affleck’s swan song as Batman assumably in the upcoming “The Flash” movie, DC’s “Justice League” members don’t seem to be a big part of the upcoming rebooted universe (now headed by filmmaker James Gunn and “Shazam!” producer Peter Safran). But Gadot’s appearance potentially nods to a supporting role going forward rather than a featured one, maybe popping up here and there a la Samuel L. Jackson’s Marvel mainstay Nick Fury.
