DC's Shazam! Fury of the Gods Adds Helen Mirren as Villain!

DC’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods Adds Helen Mirren as Villain!

The cast for David F. Sandberg’s highly-anticipated sequel to his DC Extended Universe hit is continuing to take shape as Oscar winner Helen Mirren (Hobbs & Shaw0 has joined the cast of Shazam! Fury of the Gods in the role of the villain, according to The Wrap.

Mirren will star as Hespera, a character not originally from the comics but with a heritage rooted in them as she is the daughter of Atlas, who was one of several characters from the publisher to be inspired by the Titan of Ancient Greek mythology, with the most iconic iteration of the character hailing from Jack Kirby in 1975. Mirren joins the recently cast West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler, though her key role is currently being kept to the thunderbolt-adorned chest.

It was previously reported that screenwriter Henry Gayden had signed on to return to craft a sequel for the comedic superhero effort with director David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation) returning alongside producer Peter Safran and cast members Zachary Levi, Jack Dylan Grazer, Marta Milans, Asher Angel, Meagan Good, Faithe Herman, and Adam Brody.

In the first film, we all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).

The Shazam! cast includes Asher Angel (Andi Mack) as Billy Batson, Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy) as The Wizard, and Mark Strong (Kingsman) in the role of Super-Villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. The film also stars Jack Dylan Grazer (IT) as Billy’s best friend and ultimate superhero enthusiast, Freddy, part of the foster family that includes Mary, played by Grace Fulton (Annabelle: Creation); Darla, played by Faithe Herman (This is Us); Eugene, played by Ian Chen (Fresh Off the Boat); and Pedro, played by Jovan Armand (Hawaii Five-0). Cooper Andrews (The Walking Dead) and Marta Milans (Killer Women) play foster parents Victor and Rosa Vasquez.