Helen Mirren, the Oscar-winning actress for “The Queen,” wasn’t much of a fan of superhero movies, but then she saw “Shazam!” and felt a connection.
“I loved the first ‘Shazam!’ movie and it was one of the few superhero type movies I had seen, and I loved it,” Mirren told Reuters. “It was funny, it was lovely, but he had that real heart.”
So when she was offered a role as the daring antagonist Hespera in the “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” sequel, Mirren was more than happy to sign up.
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), hits theaters Friday and brings actor Zachary Levi back as Shazam, the young adult superhero alter ego. foster, Billy Batson.
The sequel is the first DCEU film since filmmaker James Gunn was named co-director of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.O) and announced the new DC slate.
“It’s something everyone in the whole family can enjoy together – maybe not the smallest of kids, it can get a little gnarly and dark and creatures and monsters and death and all that” , said Levi.
The “Shazam!” 2019 features a young adoptee named Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel, as he is assigned to a new foster family and suddenly gained superpowers from a wizard making him, and ultimately his adoptive siblings, adult superheroes.
This time around, Billy and his foster siblings must battle the Daughters of Atlas, who are based on mythological Greek goddesses and are on the hunt for the magical powers stolen from them.
Joining Mirren in the trio of goddesses are “Charlie’s Angels” actress Lucy Liu as Kalypso and “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler as Anthea.
“Your protagonist is as good as the antagonist,” Liu said. “You want them to be strong and have a base and a backbone that’s going to match, if not better, because that makes the story even stronger.”