#Shazam film movie#

Some of it is just minor details to set him apart from what we’ve seen before. 'Then we asked how we could differentiate him from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. We could have had three, five, even eight heads, but they all proved too difficult. 'Initially, I thought 'can you make a dragon with 100 heads? Can we create one with tiny heads that form to make a bigger head? What about having small heads all over his body?' In the end, it was impossible. 'In Greek mythology, Ladon has over 100 heads,' Sandberg explains.

#Shazam film movie#

Differentiating Ladon from what’s come before, as well as honoring its fabled anatomy, proved to be one of the movie crew’s biggest challenges.Īnthea’s power is very similar to what we see in Doctor Strange David F Sandberg, Shazam! 2 director Ladon’s unusual features were difficult to depict in a live-action format, too. Other Warner Bros-owned properties, such as House of the Dragon and The Hobbit trilogy, have grounded dragon designs in reality in recent years. But it’s Ladon, another terror-inducing beast with ties to the Hesperides, who inspires the Daughters of Atlas and takes center stage in Shazam! 2, especially in the movie’s third and final act.īringing Ladon to life – in a superhero movie, no less – proved no easy task. Typhon is regarded as the most well-known and fearsome dragon in Greek mythology. Pictures)Īs Sandberg attests, Fury of the Gods leans into the monstrous myths of Ancient Greece, with dragons – known as drakōn in Greek culture – playing a significant role in its storied history. Yep, the Daughters of Atlas have a dragon at their disposal. We had Weta working on the creatures, Pixomondo, who’s worked on Game of Thrones, and DNEG doing a bunch of the dragon stuff.' Here be dragons We were working with some of the best studios in the business, which always helps. It takes the edge off it because, when it’s too clear – I mean, the more degraded you can make the picture, the better you can mesh the visuals in there as it’s always hard making things look like they’re there. 'With the film grain, it helps to make things feel more organic and definitely aids the VFX (visual effects). For the Daughters of Atlas, we wanted something that’s badass and feels very inspired by Ancient Greece, so we went for darker tones with that aspect. I’ve seen comments online that liken them to the Power Rangers, and I’m always like 'Not quite'. 'Sometimes you have to do little fixes in the DI (digital intermediate) and grading to make sure they’re not too bright. 'The Shazamily’s color is something we’ve played with a lot,' Sandberg explains. Doubling down on the unique visuals, Sandberg and his creative team played with film grain and color grading to evoke a more pronounced contrast. Countering that aesthetic is the Daughters of Atlas’ muted hues and unmistakably ancient battle armor, complete with regal headdresses and sharp edges. For the Shazamily, that meant imbuing them with vivid, eye-popping coloramas and sleek, form-fitting costumes. To further accentuate the divide, Sandberg and the film’s crew opted for visually distinct looks for each team. The juxtaposition between the two groups extends beyond the confines of the story and the themes being explored, though.

The disparity between their fighting skills, teamwork, and superpowered experience couldn’t be more stark, particularly in the film’s first and second acts, even with the Shazamily (the term affectionately given to Billy and company by the movie’s cast and crew) outnumbering the Daughters of Atlas two-to-one.īilly Batson and Freddy Freeman don't see eye-to-eye in Fury of the Gods. As the main trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods shows, Billy and his cohorts are clearly outthought and outfought by the Greek goddesses. We asked how we could differentiate Ladon from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon David F Sandberg, Shazam! 2 directorĪ lot, actually. Seeking vengeance on Billy and co for stealing the Greek gods’ powers, the trio quickly positions itself as a new, world-ending threat that Billy’s adult superhero alter ego (Zachary Levi) and his allies must deal with. Well, until the villainous Daughters of Atlas – Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Athena (Rachel Zegler) – arrive on Earth. Among these and the other foster kids' problems, Billy is struggling to hold the group together. Freddy wants to be his own superhero and Mary (Grace Caroline Curry) has more human priorities – namely, holding down an actual job and wanting to go to college. Having spent the intervening period fighting crime – somewhat ineffectively, mind you, given the public calls them the ‘Philadelphia Fiascos’ for the destruction they leave behind – Billy and his siblings’ bond should be watertight.