Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) is a superhero film adapted from DC Comics, directed by David F. Sandberg and starring Zachary Levi and Asher Angel. The film is part of the DCEU and was released by Warner Bros.. Runtime: 2h 10m. Rated PG-13. Audience rating: 5.7/10.
What is Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) about?
The Shazam family must confront the Daughters of Atlas, who are seeking to retrieve the wizard's wand and reclaim the magic stolen from them. Billy Batson and his foster siblings face their gravest threat yet.
Released in 2023, Shazam! Fury of the Gods was directed by David F. Sandberg and produced under the Warner Bros. banner. The film occupies a significant place within the DCEU — contributing to the ongoing narrative and mythology of that cinematic universe.
The film features lead performances from Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Helen Mirren, among others, anchoring a story that adapts characters first brought to life in DC Comics. Its source material gives the film a foundation rooted in decades of published storytelling, which Sandberg and the creative team interpret through a cinematic lens.
The film's 5.7 audience rating indicates a mixed response. Even so, it holds interest as part of the broader DCEU catalogue and for how it fits into the lineage of DC Comics-based cinema.
What happens in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)? — Full Plot
We open two years after Shazam! (2019). Billy Batson and his foster siblings — Mary, Pedro, Eugene, Darla, Freddy — have been informally operating as the Shazam family across Philadelphia. They are not a polished superhero team. They are six teenagers in adult bodies stumbling into crime intervention. Their attempts at heroism produce more property damage than salvation.
Meanwhile, three Greek goddesses — Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea (Rachel Zegler) — emerge from imprisonment in the Greek mythological underworld. They are the daughters of Atlas; their family was the original wielders of the powers Billy now holds (Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury). Hespera and Kalypso want their powers back. Anthea, the youngest, is more sympathetic to Billy's team.
The goddesses arrive in Philadelphia. They demand Billy return the wizard's staff that channels the SHAZAM power. Billy refuses. Hespera and Kalypso attack Philadelphia. They imprison the Wizard. They steal half the Shazam family's powers. The team is reduced to four functioning heroes.
Anthea is captured by her sisters and used as leverage against Billy. The Shazam family attempts a rescue. The mission expands as Hespera and Kalypso reveal their true plan: to use the wizard's staff to summon a dragon — a magical creature representing pure chaos — that will reshape Earth into a new Olympus.
Billy realizes the Shazam power's defensive ritual requires multiple heroes acting in concert. He activates a long-dormant magical seal in the wizard's spell — empowering not just the Shazam family but also Anthea (who has been rejected by her sisters). The team's combined power becomes sufficient to combat the dragon.
The final battle takes place across Philadelphia and the Rock of Eternity. The Shazam family destroys Hespera. Billy sacrifices himself — or appears to — to seal the dragon back into the magical prison. Billy is dead.
The Shazam family revives Billy with the gods' last remaining power. The team accepts that they are now a more mature unit. The film closes with the Shazam family taking on a more-organized superhero identity. The mid-credits scene shows Hespera surviving (revealed alive in the magical realm). The post-credits scene reveals Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) — who has not yet been recast for the DCU.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods grossed $134 million globally on a $125 million budget — a significant commercial failure. The film's release during the DCEU collapse, combined with Henry Cavill's brief cameo (the last DCEU appearance before his official departure), made it a tonally awkward viewing experience. David Sandberg, Zachary Levi, and the Shazam family have not returned to the DC franchise.
Who stars in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)?
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What are some facts about Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)?
Shazam! Fury of the Gods released in 2023, placing it within the 2020s era of comic book cinema — a decade that saw superhero films become the dominant force at the global box office.
Directed by David F. Sandberg, the film was produced by Warner Bros. and adapts source material from DC Comics.
The principal cast features Zachary Levi and Asher Angel, with key supporting roles played by Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Rachel Zegler.
The film belongs to DCEU — the DC Extended Universe, Warner Bros' connected superhero continuity.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods carries an audience rating of 5.7 — a mixed reception that highlights the divisive nature of superhero film adaptations.
The DC Comics source material for Shazam! Fury of the Gods has been in continuous publication for decades, giving filmmakers a rich well of storylines, character arcs, and iconography to draw upon.
Modern superhero films like this one use a mix of practical effects and digital VFX, with entire sequences often shot against volume walls or LED stages pioneered by shows like The Mandalorian.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is catalogued on Movies on Comics among our collection of 162 comic book films spanning 48 years of cinema — from Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to the present day.
