WARNING: This article features potential spoilers for Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
It looks like the Shazam Family is changing the status quo with one of its members in Shazam: Fury of the Gods, as Grace Fulton will be pulling double-duty in the DCEU sequel. Billy Batson got his cinematic debut in 2019 with Asher Angel playing the teenage side while Zachary Levi portrayed the adult version. However, Shazam also introduced Billy's foster family, featuring Freddy, Mary, Eugene, Pedro, and Darla. As Billy got his origin story in becoming the famous DC hero, so did his foster siblings as Shazam shared his powers with them, turning them into adult superheroes as well. Shazam's commercial and critical success made Warner Bros. quick to greenlight a sequel, as Shazam 2 is currently in production.
While most story details are being kept under wrap, the Shazam Family will be taking on the daughters of Atlas, which consists of Helen Mirren's Hespera, Lucy Liu's Kalypso, and Rachel Zegler's mystery character. Had it not been for the global pandemic, the Shazam sequel would have begun filming much sooner. One of the things Shazam 2 is changing from the first installment are the heroes' super-suits, as director David Sandberg unveiled their upgraded looks. The costume change wasn't the only big takeaway, as fans noticed that Fulton was suited up as the super version of Mary. While Sandberg confirmed that Fulton would be playing both versions of Mary, how does it work within the sequel's story?
What is important to remember about Shazam is that Mary was the oldest one out of all the foster siblings, as she was either 17 or 18 years old at the point of the first film. Before Mary got her powers with the rest of the family, she was in the midst of planning her next chapter in life, as she had been accepted to Caltech. The idea that Mary is the only one who doesn't turn into an older version when using their powers is actually established in the Golden Age iteration of the heroine. That version of Mary Marvel was capable of accessing her powers without transforming into a grown-up version of herself. This was because Mary's original counterpart got her abilities from a whole set of different gods.
While the modern versions of Billy and Mary are foster siblings, they were originally twins in old-school Fawcett Comics. Despite the many retcons DC has done to the Shazam Family in general, that is something Shazam 2 seems to be loosely drawing inspiration from for Fulton's Mary. If Mary was close to turning 18 in the events of Shazam, perhaps the DCEU's take on their powers has been changed where a user can choose their form once they are legally an adult. Should that be the case, it would logistically explain why Fulton has taken over for Michelle Borth, who played the adult Mary in the first film.
There could obviously be other causes to factor in about why Shazam 2 is going in this direction with Mary. It could simply be that they wanted to add something new to the Shazam mythology as depicted in the DCEU. Perhaps Michelle Borth wasn't available for the sequel, thus making it possible for Sandberg to either recast the adult Mary or retool the character so that Fulton could play both. Only time will tell how Shazam: Fury of the Gods will explain Mary's new status-quo as part of the heroic family.
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June 22, 2021 at 12:41AM
