Written By Kieran Bugg • U.K. Editor
Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Zachary Levi continues to cause even more online controversy after following a supposed anti-LGBTQ+ Twitter account. More skiing trips with DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran might not pull him out of the fire this time.
It’s been a hit-or-miss kind of year for superhero movies so far. Shazam! Fury of the Gods being the biggest miss both critically and financially.
The first Shazam! movie that released back in 2019 proved to be a hit among critics and audiences.
Leading duo Levi and Asher Angel received high praise for their joint performance as Billy Batson. Moreover, Shazam! also managed to gross over $367 million worldwide against a $90-100 million budget.
While that doesn’t sound too impressive, Shazam! reportedly made a net profit of $74 million for Warner Bros. and DC.
Enough to warrant a sequel.
Shazam! 2 Star Zachary Levi Stirs Controversy Once Again
Image: Google Images
Not long after the first film’s release, Warner Bros. confirmed Shazam! 2 was already in development.
Director David F. Sandberg would return to the helm with Levi and Angel reprising their role as the titular superhero. Shazam! Fury of the Gods was officially announced at DC FanDome in August 2020.
In addition, a group photo of the Shazamily all in brand new costumes was revealed to fans. To begin with, there was eager anticipation for the next installment in this promising franchise.
However, this eventually took a downward turn after Warner Bros.’ merger with Discovery. Newly appointed CEO David Zaslav’s first order of business was the restructuring of DC Films and the DCEU. Both were rebranded as DC Studios and the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) to coincide with the franchise’s new direction.
Furthermore, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn was named as co-CEO of the studio alongside producer Safran. Both confirmed that a soft reboot would take place after the events of Ezra Miller’s The Flash.
Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck were relieved from their roles as Superman and Batman so soon after announcing their returns. As expected, this news was met with immediate backlash from fans.
All excitement for any of DC’s upcoming movies faded away like half the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. As a result, the box office projections for Shazam! Fury of the Gods began to look dreary.
Shazam! 2 Star Zachary Levi Stirs Controversy Once Again
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery
Nonetheless, the studio remained confident in their plans as well as the slate of projects they had coming out. That is until lead actor Levi decided to play with matches and gasoline.
Levi found himself in hot water on social media after he seemingly took a shot at the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Plus, the actor also mocked pop icon Brittney Spears’ legal battle over her conservatorship, making that water hotter.
Unsurprisingly, this all resulted in a considerable amount of controversy and negative publicity for the Shazam! sequel. However, Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t see this as something to worry about.
They were they wrong.
Reviews for Shazam! Fury of the Gods upon release ranged from mixed to negative. While Angel’s performance was well received, Levi’s was panned for being too silly. The sequel also went on to become a box office bomb, grossing only $133.4 million against a $110-125 million budget.
Yikes.
Nevertheless, he continues to stir the pot even now.
Media critic Bob Chipman recently shared a screenshot via his Twitter that takes this controversy to the next level. The screenshot shows that Levi follows an account called “Gays Against Groomers.”
Even though the name doesn’t raise any alarms, this account has been accused of being far right and anti-LGTBQ+.
They’ve allegedly promoted hate speech against the community as well as protested LGBTQ+ education in schools. This only further tarnishes Levi’s public image and lessens his chances of returning in Gunn’s DCU.
