'Shazam!' Director Drops Fake Trailer With Real Reviews Of Non-Existent Sequel

Jessi Kim August 16th, 2020 - 10:21 PM

“A fake trailer?” You scratch your head, wondering. In anticipation of his upcoming project, Shazam! director David F. Sandberg teased fans with an exciting trailer for Shazam! 2. The only thing is that he has yet to shoot the comic book movie sequel.

What was the reason? Well, Sandberg announced via Twitter that apparently, there are already reviews for the sequel on Letterboxd, a social network for the film community where fellow cinephiles can review, rank, and add their favorite films onto their bucket-lists. Using the misguided comments, Sandberg put together a 30-second clip promoting the nonexistent sequel, which features your typical dramatic trailer music and brief reviews shown across the screen with a montage of clips from the first movie played. Sandberg captioned his tweet: “We haven’t shot Shazam! 2 yet but there are already reviews up on Letterboxd. I’m pretty sure that means we’re allowed to start using review quotes for marketing.”

Some of the reviews included in this tongue-in-cheek trailer are:

Roberto The Person: “I’m fine with this.

Another wrote: “I’m gonna be 19 when this comes out what.”

User Nev: “Jack Dylan Grazer I’m free Thursday night to paint ur nails and dance in ur room to Fleetwood Mac”, referring to the actor who plays Freddy Freeman, best friend of Shazam’s alter-ego Billy Batson.

The trailer is obviously fake, but Shazam! 2 is actually in the works. Originally set for release on April 1, 2022, Warner Bros. and DC Comics decided to push back the sequel seventh months to Nov. 4, 2022 due to the pandemic. Sandberg and Henry Gayden will return to direct and write the project. On Aug. 22, the DC FanDome virtual event will give fans of Shazam! a chance to connect with star Zachary Levi as well as other unannounced cast members.

In the original Shazam! movie, the story, based on the comic of the same name, centers around Batson (Asher Angel), a 14-year-old foster child with the ability to transform into adult superhero Shazam (Levi). However, it is unclear exactly what Shazam’s powers are, and Batson and his best friend must discover how to use them in order to stop villain Dr. Thaddeaus Sivana (Mark Strong).

Watch the fake trailer below:

We haven't shot Shazam 2 yet but there are already reviews up on Letterboxd. I'm pretty sure that means we're allowed to start using review quotes for marketing. pic.twitter.com/q7rj528CDR

— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) August 14, 2020

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat

‘Shazam!’ Director Drops Fake Trailer With Real Reviews Of Non-Existent Sequel