Djimon Hounsou is reprising his role as the ancient wizard Shazam in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
In the first Shazam! film Djimon Hounsou played an ancient wizard named Shazam who is the last of a council of wizards after the previous champion unleashed the Seven Deadly Sins and killed everyone else. In that film after Mark Strong’s character, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana unleashes the Seven Deadly Sins by stealing the Eye of Sin, Hounsou’s Shazam finds another champion in teenager Billy Baton (Asher Angel).
Once Billy says the word “Shazam”, he is transformed into an adult superhero portrayed by Zach Levi. In that scene, Hounsou’s Shazam disintegrated to dust after passing his powers onto Billy, and he does not reappear again. We understandably assume the character died but since it is a comic book film it could mean anything. It was never confirmed that he died.
Djimon Hounsou Back As The Wizard In Shazam: Fury of the Gods
According to a report by Murphy’s Multiverse, Djimon Hounsou will return for the sequel as The Wizard. While he had been reduced to ash, it’s certainly possible that he would show up again for a flashback, which makes perfect sense especially if we’re going to explore the origins of the Shazam Family’s powers. It’s also possible that Hounsou’s character may factor into Black Adam as well.
It will be interesting to see how the sequel manages to bring back the original Shazam. The sequel begins filming this month and while the story is being kept under wraps, the major casting additions have pointed to the Shazam Family battling the daughters of Atlas. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu have joined the cast in the roles of Hespera and Kalypso respectively.
It also seems likely that the powerful but villainous sisters, Hespera and Kalypso, could have something to do with the wizard’s resurrection. Anyway, it will be great to see Hounsou back in the sequel. Hounsou is much familiar with comic book properties.
Aside from Shazam! he appeared as Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Captain Marvel (2019) and he was the voice of King Ricou in Aquaman (2018). Even before these, he appeared with Keanu Reeves in DC’s Constantine (2005). His voice work includes a part in the recent Amazon’s Invincible series and in the 2010 Black Panther animated series in which he played T’Challa.
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While Djimon Hounsou is returning, sadly actor Mark Strong won’t be returning in the sequel, as the actor himself confirmed in a recent interview with Den of Geek that he won’t be coming back. Even though Strong’s character Dr. Sivana and his alliance with Mister Mind was teased in mid-credits of the first film we may not see Sivana’s return in the sequel. Maybe it’s just that his return is saved for the third film in the series.
The DC Comics film Shazam! Fury of the Gods is scheduled to be released on June 2nd, 2023. How excited are you for Shazam! Fury of the Gods? Do you want to see Djimon Hounsou’s wizard role return for the sequel? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media and be sure to come back to The Illuminerdi for more DC news!
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Source: Murphy’s Multiverse
