Yahoo Movies Exclusive: Shazam 2 stars discuss new challenges of sequel
Shazam! Fury of the Gods' stars have opened up about the challenges of the new movie.
The DC sequel is due to hit the big screen this week, and will see the returns of Djimon Hounsou, Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer as Shazam, the younger Billy Batson, and the younger Freddy Freeman, respectively.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Hounsou explained that given it’s a sequel, they had a lot more "invested" than the first time around.
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"Given the first that we did, and coming to Fury of the Gods, [we had] so much invested. Emotionally, everybody was invested in that and in a way that we were so much more creative with it as well," he said.
"In particular, the emotion and the organic nature of having to convey to Zachary Levi, his character, that he's a true champion. That felt very organic and I felt – beyond the written words, I was very connected [to that]. So many of us are challenging in our regular life, to overcome those struggles on a daily basis. So that felt strong."
Angel added that "getting to explore the different layers and different sides to Billy" in the sequel was "super interesting to [him] because [he felt] like it's completely different".
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"Now Billy's kind of finally settled into everything that's going on in his life, with being a regular teenager and trying to balance that with having superpowers and worrying about ageing out," he added.
"I really liked exploring all those different things and his emotional range and it was a little bit of a challenge for the second film, dialling that in and honing in on that."
Grazer, meanwhile, said Freddy is "probably the easiest character" he's ever played, as he feels "so much like" him.
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"I don’t have to change that much about me," the star explained. "I talk fast naturally, he's kind of erratic, and wants to fill in the silence with nonsensical comedy. And so I can relate to him in that way.
"But in this one, you're right. I mean, we do expound upon his internal-ity more and we see the intricacy of his emotions and you know, he's more human, or we get a glimpse of his humanity more.
"And that was a fun thing to explore, and is more of a challenge. But also still, it felt very intuitive and because I know Freddy."
Shazam! Fury of the Gods has a cinema release date of March 17, 2023.
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