- Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for "Shazam: Fury of the Gods."
- There are two extra scenes following the end to the Zachary Levi-starring DC sequel.
If you head to theaters to see "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" this weekend, make sure to stick around until the movie's very end.
The film contains two extra scenes during the credits, one of which teases the superhero could stick around in DC films or shows despite an upcoming reset to the DC universe.
If you left early, we have you covered.
The first end-credits scene
What happens: Shazam meets some familiar faces
Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee), who appeared in "The Suicide Squad" and HBO Max's "Peacemaker," are shown approaching Billy Batson/Shazam (Zachary Levi) in, what appears to be, the middle of nowhere.
Emilia tells John, "Waller thinks he could be a good addition to the team," referencing Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, a government figure that monitors various DC super groups. Emilia adds they're a little concerned he may be a bit immature.
The two invite Shazam to join the Justice Society of America. The group recently lost Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan) in "Black Adam."
All too eager, Shazam agrees before realizing the two want him to be part of the Justice Society, not the Justice League. The latter group arguably contains all of DC's cooler and more recognizable A-list heroes, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Aquaman.
As a result, some humorous digs are made as to why DC has two superhero groups starting with the word "Justice."
The dialogue is on par with the humor fans have come to expect from both "Peacemaker" and "Shazam."
The scene ends with Shazam workshopping names for potential superhero groups, landing on, "The Avengers Society," an obvious nod to Marvel.
"I like that for some reason," the hero concludes.
What it means: It's possible we could see Shazam again, but the box office will likely determine whether or not we see the character again
This scene was a complete surprise since Shazam wasn't mentioned in DC's future show and film vision.
As a result, fans will likely watch this sequence and leave theaters expecting Shazam to turn up in another movie, though likely not his own, or another season of "Peacemaker."
Where and when could we next see Shazam?
Your guess is as good as DC and Warner Bros'.
When asked whether or not this scene could amount to anything, a Warner Bros. representative told me there currently isn't anything else in the works with the character. Barring box-office results, that could change. But maybe not. Unfortunately, the film's current projections are so-so.
That's frustrating.
Fans will be upset if this scene has zero payoff. (But, hey, DC fans are used to false hope, right?)
There's no point in including that scene at the end of the sequel if the studio doesn't even know whether or not they plan to feature the character again.
My read on the situation: This is WB throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks and, in part, it's a brilliant move.
By teasing the possibility of seeing Shazam again, the studio looks like heroes. If the movie makes some cash, maybe there's payoff down the line. (WB would look silly to not utilize at least some of the Shazam characters moving forward if the movie performs well.) If it tanks, WB can forget the scene ever happened and move forward.
As a business decision, it's smart and low risk. However, it's not a great way to treat and keep a fanbase that continues to be teased and misled. (This is the same studio which brought back Henry Cavill as Superman in October only to ditch him two months later.)
With a few films from the old DC universe still set for release ("The Flash"/"Aquaman 2") this year, I imagine Gunn and DC will start cherry-picking whatever pieces work from former DC movies and bring them forward into the new regime.
The 2nd end-credits scene
What happens: We revisit the first film's villain
We're back in the familiar Rock Falls Penitentiary cell from the end of the first "Shazam" movie.
The camera zooms in on the film's villain, Doctor Thaddeus Sivana, who now has an untamed beard.
Sivana's greeted by laughter from Mister Mind, the alien worm who visited his cell at the end of the 2018 film. The worm says he's still working on his plan from the first film where he confidently overpromised they were about to rule "the seven realms."
Clearly upset by the lack of progress, Sivana yells out that it's been two years and he's 57.
In response, the worm tells him it takes him a long time to get places, before cryptically hinting, "but not for long."
Sivana demands Mister Mind tell him everything.
Before he reveals his diabolical scheme, the worm says there's "one more thing" he needs to do first and crawls away.
Sivana, frustrated, cries out, "Oh God damnit."
What this means: Likely nothing. I doubt we'll ever get payoff for this scene
This scene is likely meant for nothing more than a light chuckle considering Mister Mind's ambitious plans clearly didn't happen.
One of Shazam's main archenemies, in the comics Mister Mind leads the Monster Society of Evil, a super-villain group which has included Black Adam, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's former antihero, among other characters.
It's not really worth explaining them more because it doesn't seem like we're ever going to see this group in live action now that DC's moving in a different direction, without Johnson, at least for now.
If WB's closing the door on the "Shazam" franchise, this was a nice way to tell fans they didn't forget about the post-credit scene from the first film.
Sivana's still alive and rotting in prison and nothing ever came of Mister Mind's wild plans to rule the galaxy because, let's face it, he's a slow-moving worm, making it difficult to accomplish anything.