New Line’s sequel to the DC film ‘Shazam!’ now has a release date of April 1, 2022. It joins the 2022 slate of DC films that includes Andy Muschietti’s ‘The Flash’ and James Wan’s ‘Aquaman 2.’
Moreover, Henry Gayden, the writer of the acclaimed first film, is returning to pen the screenplay. Gayden previously wrote the film ‘Earth to Echo,’ and wrote the script for ‘The Last Human,’ a future project for directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Meanwhile, the first film’s director David F. Sandberg will also come back to the helm the movie. He began his career with short films, which lead to one of them becoming a feature film: ‘Lights Out.’ Producer James Wan, who had a hand in bringing ‘Lights Out’ to life, then brought Sandberg into The Conjuring Universe to direct ‘Annabelle: Creation.’
Zachary Levi, who plays Shazam, previously stated that the sequel is aiming to begin filming late spring or early summer 2020. However, with this release date in hand, it seems production will begin January 2021. The first film began shooting at the end of January, in 2018.
The rest of the first film’s cast comprises of Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Faithe Herman, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Milans, and Cooper Andrews. Most of which are likely to return in the sequel.
Meanwhile, the ‘Black Adam’ solo movie will release December 22, 2021, with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson playing the titular character. Director Jaume Collet-Serra (‘The Shallows,’ ‘The Commuter’) is onboard, with a script by Adam Sztykiel (‘Due Date,’ ‘Rampage’). Production will start either June or July 2020.
The untitled sequel is the only film on this date as of now, but it will arrive one week before Sony Animation’s ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2.’