What happens in the Shazam 2 ending? The latest DC Universe movie brings back Billy Batson and his super-powered foster family, and this time their adversaries are literal Greek gods. It’s a tough task to say the least.
The new movie sees the Shazam cast back on screens for a superhero movie that pits them against some formidable DC villains in the Daughters of Atlas. Led by Helen Mirren as Hespera, they are very angry deities who resent god-like powers being dished out like sweets to human teenagers.
Inevitably, the comedy movie antics lead to a super-powered showdown of epic proportions. Read our Shazam 2 review to find out what we thought of it. As we delve into the Shazam 2 ending explained, let’s take a look at how the latest DC movie culminates and what it means for the future of the DC Universe.
What happens at the end of Shazam 2?
In the Shazam 2 ending, Billy sacrifices himself to save Earth from becoming the grotesque garden of the gods. He is then revived with the help of Wonder Woman.
As the third act of Shazam 2 draws in, Lucy Liu’s dragon-riding baddie Kalypso is in charge in a big way. She has stripped her newly heroic sister Anthea (Rachel Zegler) of her god powers and seemingly killed her other sister Hespera (Helen Mirren) by stabbing her with the dragon’s tail.
She is determined to turn Earth into a garden of the gods, starting with Philadelphia – already encased in a forcefield dome and crawling with mythical monsters, obviously. But then Shazam manages to get hold of her magical, power-sapping staff and lures her to baseball stadium Citizens Bank Park. A revived Hespera aligns with the heroes and shrinks the forcefield to cover only the stadium.
Shazam manages to use his own powers and those of the dragon to “charge up” the staff, which – after a pause to say a touching farewell to his family – he then flies into the heart of the dragon as he yells the magic word. This triggers a massive explosion contained within the forcefield dome, and Hespera and Kalypso both crumble to dust along with the garden of the gods.
Billy’s distraught family find him in his teenage form and, shockingly, he seems to really be dead. The characters bury his body as the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) explains that there are no gods left to recharge the staff. “There is one,” says a mysterious woman as a very familiar electric cello riff kicks in. It’s Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, in a cameo the studio bafflingly chose to spoil in trailers.
She uses her power to recharge the staff, restoring everyone’s super-abilities and leading to Shazam bursting out of his grave like something out of a horror movie. It’s not all good news for Billy, though, as Wonder Woman turns down his offer of a date.
Billy and his foster family then settle down for dinner, along with the Wizard, who has come to retrieve the staff. The movie ends with Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) declaring they can “do better” than Shazam as a superhero name.
What happens in the Shazam 2 post-credits scenes?
Shazam 2 has a mid-credits scene in which the character is recruited into the Justice Society, and a post-credits scene featuring Mark Strong as Doctor Sivana, and alien caterpillar Mister Mind.
In the mid-credits scene, Emilia Harcourt and John Economos – last seen as part of the Peacemaker cast, and set to return in Peacemaker season 2 – have been sent by Amanda Waller to recruit Billy to a team. Excited, Billy accepts the offer to join a team beginning with the word “Justice”.
He’s somewhat deflated when he learns it’s the Justice Society, and doesn’t involve Wonder Woman. He comments on the confusion of having two similarly named teams and suggests different names, including “the Avengers Society”.
The Justice Society was introduced into the DC Universe in Black Adam, as another group of heroes run by Waller. That incarnation of the group featured Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone. Given the fact Black Adam is historically an arch-enemy of Shazam, this is an interesting link to draw between those two franchises.
The post-credits scene returns to Mark Strong as Doctor Sivana, who remains in prison after the events of the first movie. Just as in that movie’s post-credits scene, he is visited by alien caterpillar Mister Mind, as voiced by director David F. Sandberg.
There are jokes about how long it has taken Mind to come up with “the perfect plan” and how long it takes him to travel given his size and shape, but he declares that he has something else to sort out and slithers very slowly away. Sivana, it seems, will have to wait once again.
It’s a more comedic scene than its predecessor, but shows that Sivana and Mister Mind are still out there and could play a part if Shazam 3 is given the green light by Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC regime.
Will Shazam appear in James Gunn’s DCU?
We don’t know yet whether Shazam will feature in the DCU under James Gunn, but the character has very much been left on the board for the future.
The post-credits scenes certainly point to a future for Shazam on the big screen, but Gunn has not announced any involvement for legacy DC Universe characters in his forthcoming plans. He’s recasting Superman and Batman actors for sure in the upcoming Batman movies and Superman movies, so all bets are off.
Co-writer Henry Gayden told The Hollywood Reporter this week that box office is key to the character’s future. He said: “As far as Shazam moving forward, they’ve said that, if this movie does well, then we can continue in their universe. So it’s really kind of contingent on this weekend, and the next weekend and the weekend after that.”
Will there be a Shazam 3?
Shazam 3 has not been officially announced yet.
The DC Universe is, as we all know, in something of a state of flux since Gunn and Safran’s takeover. The initial skeleton of the Chapter 1 Gods and Monsters era has been laid out but, if Shazam 2 becomes a box office sensation, plans for a Shazam 3 could definitely be accelerated.
It’s also worth noting that the movie relies on a cast able to play teenagers, so time may be of the essence if they want to avoid recasting the young ensemble.
For more on the future of the DC Universe, check out our guides to some of the upcoming DC movies. We’ve got everything you need to know about the Superman Legacy release date, The Brave and the Bold release date, the Lanterns release date, and the Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow release date.