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Zachary Levi has backed reports that Dwayne Johnson blocked โBlack Adamโ characters from appearing in โShazam! Fury of the Godsโ.
Members of โBlack Adamโsโ Justice Society of America had been due to appear in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) sequel in a post-credits scene but The Wrap reported on Tuesday (21.03.23) that โThe Rockโ blocked the characters from featuring and also prevented Levi from making a cameo as Billy Batson/Shazam in the 2022 film โBlack Adamโ.
In an Instagram story, Zachary commented on the report: โThe truth shall set you free.โ
Director David F. Sandberg had revealed that โBlack Adamโ were set to appear but the scene โfell apart three days before we were going to roll the camerasโ and forced him to find alternative characters at short notice.
The 42-year-old filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter: โThere were supposed to be characters from (โBlack Adamโsโ) Justice Society, but that fell apart three days before we were going to roll cameras.
โSo, Peter Safran, who produced this movie and โPeacemakerโ, made some calls, and thankfully, Jen Holland and Steve Agee were able to come by on very short notice.โ
โShazam! Fury of the Godsโ has been met with mixed responses from critics and Sandberg took to Twitter to respond to the reviews.
He wrote: โI wasnโt expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think itโs a good film. Oh well.โ
Rachel Zegler plays Anthea in the superhero film and hit out at the โsenselessly meanโ criticism of the picture.
She wrote on Twitter: โhey our film is actually really good! but mostly i just absolutely loved making it and the people i met whilst doing so ๐ go see it! give it a chance. we have an 85 per cent audience score for a reason.
some people out there and just beingโฆ senselessly mean. and itโs unnecessary. and i know, i know, โif you canโt handle the heatโฆโ and all that nonsense, and youโre right. but our film is actually very good. itโs just cool to hate on fun nowadays. thatโs okay. weโre good. (sic)โ