Shazam! 2 Just Hit A Major Production Milestone

When "Shazam!" hit theaters in 2019, the film took both audiences and critics by surprise with how light-hearted and funny it was (per Rotten Tomatoes). This film's tone flew in the face of the DC Extended Universe tone set by auteurs like Zack Snyder, whose gritty filmmaking sensibility yielded dark and brooding comic book movies like "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and the exhausting "Zack Snyder's Justice League." Despite the contrast, fans warmed to "Shazam!," which propelled the film to modest box office success, earning $366 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo).

Naturally, this led to the studio greenlighting a second film in the series, entitled "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." Director David F. Sandberg, who directed the first film, is back in the director's chair, and he likes to offer frequent updates about the status of the sequel. Given that the pandemic has been raging on, production on "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" has been slow and plagued by delays. While the film's currently scheduled to be released in 2023, it thankfully just hit a major production milestone.

Take Sandberg's word for it.

"Shazam! Fury of the Gods" director David F. Sandberg recently posted on Twitter that filming on the "Shazam!" sequel had wrapped. Included in the announcement was a photo of a clapperboard seemingly used during the production. Sandberg also shared a photo over on his Instagram announcing the news, but with a slightly more intriguing photo. The picture in question includes Sandberg standing among the rubble of a destroyed bedroom. The destruction includes a very large hole in the wall and a blue background beyond it.

While it's very exciting that "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" has wrapped production, the photo in question could potentially point to one of the big action scenes that will be present in the movie. Where this picture is located isn't entirely clear, though it could be protagonist Billy Batson's (Asher Angel) room when he's not out prowling the streets and skies in his Shazam (Zachary Levi) form. Whatever the photo points to, the fact that principal photography has concluded is a very reassuring sign. Post-production tends to be a more pandemic-resilient stage, so perhaps that 2023 release date will actually happen.