In the aftermath of Shazam: Fury Of The Gods‘ lackluster premiere, the studio behind the film released an alternate ending of the first installment in the franchise for viewers to access free of charge. The alternate ending, previously available as paid content, gives a smoother transition to the sequel.
Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is a sequel to 2019’s Shazam!, an origin story based on the eponymous superhero character from DC Comics. It follows orphan Billy Batson as he is chosen by a powerful wizard as his mortal champion, granting him the power of a god when he says the word Shazam. The film was well received, with action, comedy, emotional moments, and a message about finding a family. Many viewers noted that Shazam! had more depth than other DCEU films at the time, leading to a sequel film being given the green light at Warner Bros.
While the sequel was initially anticipated despite pushback, Shazam! Fury of the Gods performed worse at the box office than expected after being released to mixed reviews, at best. Despite this, fans visiting the official Warner Bros Entertainment YouTube channel were recently greeted with the alternate ending to the more well-received first film, featuring Billy and his new family fawning emotionally over a spectacular Christmas tree before heading in to relax and catch news of a hostage situation, which the kids fly off to resolve. The explanation for the scene was posted to Twitter by director David F. Sandberg in 2019, saying, “The alternate ending was a backup we shot in case the cameo at the end didn’t work. The alternate had all the kids transform and fly off to stop a hostage situation.”
“It always feels a bit uncomfortable including deleted scenes. Not only were they cut for a reason, they’re always very rough too since work was stopped on them,” Sandberg added. “It’s a little like giving a lecture in your underwear. I figure it’s worth it though since some find it interesting.” Despite Sandberg’s distaste for the deleted scene, it’s a good one and leans into the assertion that Shazam! is a perfect Christmas movie.
While the gesture of releasing the alternate ending, which until now was exclusive to the Shazam! home media extras, was appreciated by many, and even renewed calls for the character to be retained in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU, it’s unlikely to do much to redeem the franchise. In addition to the theatrical failure of Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the unspoken need to make a clean break with the previous DCEU, the franchise’s omission from James Gunn’s announced DC slate means it will probably be quite a while before fans see Shazam on the big screen again, if ever.
Shazam: Fury Of The Gods is now available in theatres.
Source: YouTube/Warner Bros. Entertainment
Source: Gamerant