A lot of DCU fans are currently looking forward to the upcoming film Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Not only it will feature the return of Zachary Levi as the titular hero, but it will also introduce the daughters of Atlas as the villains. Some fans are wondering about which comic book runs are the characters based on and now we have the answer.
Speaking recently with Empire Magazine (via The Direct), director David F. Sandberg confirmed that the daughters of Atlas (Hespera, Kalypso, Anthea) are not based on the comics and they are original characters for the film, marking the first time that it happens in a DCEU project.
"We landed there because Shazam’s powers come from Greek gods. So what if those powers were stolen from the gods and now they want revenge?," he explained.
The director also shared a behind-the-scenes tidbit when he revealed that Helen Mirren, who plays Hespera, was insisting on doing her own stunts in the film. He said, "She wanted to do all her own stunts. We had to tell her sometimes, ’We need an actual stuntperson to do that.’"
It is interesting to hear that the sequel's villains will not be based on the comics which may surprise a lot of fans since it's been a norm for the films in comic book movie franchises that they'll pull out characters from the source material.
However, when you read Sandberg's comments, it is understandable why they went with the daughters of Atlas as the villains for the film and it sounds like it is what fits the best for the story that they want to tell, which is after all the most important part at the end of the day.
Since they are new characters, it is much more exciting now to speculate on what we might expect from them since there's no source material that we can check. Based on the descriptions, there is no doubt that they are formidable threats to the titular hero.
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Shazam! Fury of the Gods is slated for release in theaters on March 17, 2023. You can check more details about it here.
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