50 Fun Facts About Shazam!

Who plays the adult superhero form of Billy Batson in Shazam!?

Zachary Levi sent in a self-tape for the grown-up Freddy, and the director watched it and decided he was clearly the lead instead.

Who plays teenage Billy Batson in Shazam!?

Asher Angel, then a lead on Disney Channel's Andi Mack, won the part over Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard, who later admitted he was disappointed to lose it.

Which Sony comic-book film did Shazam! director David F. Sandberg read the script for, then pass on?

Venom. He met with Sony about it but was already heading toward Shazam! and chose not to chase the job; Venom went on to gross $856 million with another director.

Who plays the villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana in Shazam!?

Mark Strong had played DC's Sinestro in 2011's Green Lantern, which ended by teasing him as the villain of a sequel that was never made.

Who plays the ancient wizard who gives Billy his powers in Shazam!?

Djimon Hounsou took the role after Ron Cephas Jones dropped out over a scheduling clash, and his casting stayed under wraps until filming had finished.

In Shazam!, what is the name of the wizard's mystic temple in another dimension?

The Rock of Eternity. Once the Sins are locked away again, Billy and Freddy decide to keep the wizard's temple as their own superhero lair.

In Shazam!, where is young Sivana when the wizard first summons him?

His father's car, on a snowy road in 1974. The wizard rejects him and sends him back, and the boy's panic causes the crash that costs his father the use of his legs.

In Shazam!, through which toy do the Seven Deadly Sins send young Sivana a message to find them?

A Magic 8-Ball. Moments after the wizard rejects the boy, its window reads 'Find us', and he spends the rest of his life hunting for a way back.

Shazam! director David F. Sandberg had never heard of the hero while growing up in which country?

Sweden. He grew up there on better-known heroes and said a character few people knew brought far less to live up to.

In Shazam!, what does Billy learn when he finally tracks down his birth mother?

She left him on purpose. A teenage mother who felt out of her depth, she watched the police find the lost boy and decided others would raise him better.

What are the names of Billy's foster parents in Shazam!?

Victor and Rosa Vasquez both grew up in the foster system themselves, which is why they now open their home to six children.

Who plays Freddy Freeman, Billy's superhero-obsessed foster brother, in Shazam!?

Jack Dylan Grazer, fresh from a breakout turn in 2017's It, plays the foster brother who films Billy's power tests and turns the new hero into a viral star.

Which of Billy's foster siblings in Shazam! is the college-bound 'den mother' of the group?

Mary Bromfield. Grace Fulton plays her, and in the sequel she also took over Mary's superhero form, which Michelle Borth had played in the first film.

Where is Billy when he is first transported to the wizard in Shazam!?

On a subway car. Billy has just stood up for Freddy against two school bullies and is fleeing them when the train carries him off to the wizard.

In Shazam!, what replaces one of Sivana's eyes and makes him the vessel of the Sins?

A magical orb. With the Sins living inside it, Sivana overpowers the wizard, then turns them on his own father and brother.

Which of his powers does Billy discover only by accident, while escaping Sivana in Shazam!?

Flight. Speed, strength and lightning all turn up in his tests with Freddy, but he only finds he can fly when Sivana has him beaten and he panics.

Where does the final battle of Shazam! take place?

A winter carnival. Cornered there, Billy uses the wizard's staff to share his powers, turning his five foster siblings into adult superheroes too.

In Shazam!, which Sin does Billy goad into leaving Sivana, rendering him powerless?

Envy. Billy had noticed that Sivana can be hurt once all seven Sins are out of his body, so he taunts the last one until it comes out to fight.

Which DC hero does Billy bring to lunch at school in the final scene of Shazam!?

Superman. Henry Cavill wasn't available, so the hero is seen only from the neck down, played by the star's stunt double.

Which character, a talking caterpillar, appears in the mid-credits scene of Shazam!?

Mister Mind, an old comics villain with mind-control powers. The director said the scene was no plan for a sequel, just a way to open a door, and the worm's bigger role in the follow-up was dropped.

In Shazam!, whose likeness appears as the hologram of the wizard's previous champion, Teth-Adam?

Dwayne Johnson. He had once been cast as Black Adam, this film's intended villain, but the character was held back for a solo film and he stayed on as an executive producer.

An earlier Shazam! film stalled in 2013 because which DC hit had revived a hero with similar powers?

Man of Steel. Director Peter Segal said its hero's resurgence left DC unsure how to launch a character with powers so alike that DC had once sued over him.

What was the Shazam character originally called before DC renamed him for the New 52?

Captain Marvel. Marvel Comics held the trademark for its own hero of that name, so from the 1970s DC had to sell his comics under the title Shazam!

Shazam!'s star said the film would feel like which earlier movie, 'but with super powers'?

Big. The studio had pitched the film to its director in the same words, and he said that was all it took: 'Sign me up!'

Under what working title was Shazam! shot in Toronto?

Franklin, presumably a nod to Benjamin Franklin, whose kite-and-lightning experiment suits a hero powered by a thunderbolt.

Which song plays as Billy shoots lightning for tips on Philadelphia's 'Rocky steps' in Shazam!?

Eye of the Tiger, the Rocky III anthem. The show ends badly: a stray bolt knocks a bus off a bridge, and Billy has to catch it before it hits the ground.

Shazam! composer Benjamin Wallfisch pictured a 14-year-old being handed what, with no limits?

A 100-piece orchestra. He wanted the score to sound as if an exuberant kid had written it, then recorded it in London with exactly that many players and a 40-voice choir.

Shazam! opened three weeks before which 2019 superhero film?

Avengers: Endgame. With that juggernaut on its way, the far cheaper Shazam! had to earn fast: it led the US box office for two weekends and finished on about $368 million worldwide.

Which collectible does Freddy hurl at Sivana in the wizard's lair, drawing blood, in Shazam!?

A replica Batarang. It nicks Sivana's head and he bleeds, which shows Billy that the villain can be hurt once the Sins have left his body.

Which country was Shazam!'s highest-grossing international market?

China, where it took more than $40 million. The 2023 sequel managed only about $6 million there across its whole run.

Which David F. Sandberg film's social worker reappears as an Easter egg in Shazam!?

Lights Out. Andi Osho returns as the social worker from the director's 2016 horror debut, which he said lets you argue the two films share a universe.

The three villainous sisters of Fury of the Gods are the daughters of which Titan?

Atlas. The Titan's stamina is the first A in the name Shazam, so the sisters are fighting a hero who runs partly on their own father's power.

Which actress plays the villain Hespera in Fury of the Gods?

Helen Mirren. The Oscar winner's turn as an ancient goddess earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress.

Which Fury of the Gods sister does Lucy Liu play?

Kalypso, the middle sister, who wields the power of chaos. She turns on her own family, mortally wounding Hespera when her sisters object to her plan for Earth.

In Fury of the Gods, Anthea poses as a new girl at Freddy's school under what name?

Anne. Freddy shows off his superhero self to impress her, which gives her sisters the opening to turn up with the staff and steal his powers.

In which Greek city do the sisters steal the wizard's broken staff at the start of Fury of the Gods?

Athens, where it sat in the Acropolis Museum. Billy had snapped the staff in two at the end of the first film, so the sisters force the captive wizard to repair it.

In Fury of the Gods, what is Steve, whom the family meets in the wizard's lair?

A sentient pen. Steve writes out the history of the three sisters for the family, then takes down their letter offering to negotiate Freddy's release.

What nickname does the public give the heroes after a bridge collapse early in Fury of the Gods?

The Philly Fiascos. The heroes save everyone on a collapsing bridge but are blamed for failing to keep it standing, on top of earlier collateral damage.

What is the Golden Apple that Hespera steals in Fury of the Gods?

The seed of the Tree of Life. The sisters split over it: two want to regrow their dead realm, while the third wants to plant it on Earth and destroy the planet.

Which dragon does the middle sister bring to Earth in Fury of the Gods?

Ladon. In Greek myth this dragon guards the golden apples of the Hesperides; in the film the guardian turns hunter, brought to Earth to seize the Golden Apple for its mistress.

Which Philadelphia landmark hosts the final battle of Fury of the Gods?

Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies. Billy lures the last sister and her dragon into the ballpark and overloads the staff with lightning, at the cost of his own life.

Which DC hero appears at the end of Fury of the Gods to repair the staff and resurrect Billy?

Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot's cameo was meant to be a secret, and the director found out the final TV spots had revealed it when someone texted him to ask why.

In the mid-credits scene of Fury of the Gods, Billy is invited to join which team?

The Justice Society. Its own members were meant to make the offer, but that fell through three days before filming, so two agents from Peacemaker stepped in at short notice.

Where was Fury of the Gods filmed?

Atlanta, Georgia. The cameras were due to roll in mid-2020, but the pandemic held the shoot back a year, and the film finally reached cinemas in March 2023.

Which sequel knocked Fury of the Gods off the US top spot after one week?

John Wick: Chapter 4. Fury of the Gods fell 69% that weekend and ended on about $134 million worldwide, barely above its production budget.

Rachel Zegler was first approached about which DC role before being cast in Fury of the Gods?

Supergirl, in The Flash. The casting director decided she wasn't right for it but had a Shazam part in mind, and she is said to have been picked by a co-star after a chemistry read.

Which actor plays the adult superhero form of Freddy Freeman in Shazam!?

Adam Brody finally got to wear a DC superhero suit here, more than a decade after he was cast as the Flash in a Justice League film that was cancelled before shooting.

Which wrestler-turned-actor met the director about playing the adult hero in Shazam!?

John Cena. He lost out, but joined the same film universe two years later as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad.

Which Smallville veteran, the show's Lionel Luthor, plays Thaddeus Sivana's estranged father in Shazam!?

John Glover. Batman's animated Riddler and Batman & Robin's Dr. Jason Woodrue plays a scornful tycoon whose son repays him by turning the Sins on him.

In Shazam!, the kids open a door in the wizard's lair on three poker players with the heads of which animal?

Crocodiles. The Crocodile-Men come from the hero's old comics, and all three were played in costume by the film's director.