Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg teases Helen Mirren's villain Hespera: 'You need great villains for a great superhero movie. It was interesting that we landed on these mythological characters. It felt like something new for fans.'
Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg teases Helen Mirren's compelling villain in the upcoming DCU film. After Billy Batson is imbued with special powers by the last remaining member of the Council of Wizards in the previous film, the 14-year-old boy is transformed into Shazam . To defeat Dr. Thaddeus Sivana , an evil scientist who was denied the chance to become Shazam's champion, Batson shares his power with his foster family to create a superhero team.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY In a recent interview with Total Film, Sandberg teased Mirren's compelling new DCU villain in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The director recalled his surprise that he was able to hire Mirren—an actor with a long esteemed career in film—to portray his chief antagonist, Hespera. Read Sandberg's full quote below:
You need great villains for a great superhero movie. It was interesting that we landed on these mythological characters. It felt like something new for fans. We said from the start we should aim really high. We said, ‘We should get someone on the level of, like, Helen Mirren.’ And then we tried reaching out to her and she said ‘yes’ straight away. It was like, ‘Holy sh*t! We actually got Helen Mirren.’ Then we went to Lucy Liu and she said ‘yes.’ They bring so much to the parts.
Mirren's Hespera is one of the Nymphs of the Evening or Sunset Goddesses known as Hesperides. As referenced by Sandberg, Mirren is joined by Kill Bill and Charlie's Angels star Lucy Liu as Kalypso, likely inspired by the Greek nymph of the same name who enchanted Odysseus with her voice and kept him captive for several years. West Side Story remake star Rachel Zegler rounds out the Daughters of Atlas as Anthea. However, details regarding her character have been kept under wraps.
The Shazam! Fury of the Gods trailer showed the Daughters of Atlas in action with Mirren leading the charge. Although not much is known regarding their purpose for confronting Batson, Hespera expresses her displeasure at humans using the power of the gods. When the Daughters of Atlas acquire an ancient weapon of immense power, Batson and his family must face the women head-on to save the world from total destruction in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
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