Shazam 2 Flop in Theaters Prompted Its Director to Call it Quits
David F. Sandberg expressed his desire to return to his horror roots.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods received mixed reviews upon its release.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it received only 53% from critics, but an astounding 87% from audiences. It seems that this controversial situation took its toll on the film's director, David F. Sandberg.
After an underwhelming opening weekend, Sandberg posted a Twitter thread expressing his desire to move away from superhero movies.
"On Rotten Tomatoes I just got my lowest critic score and my highest audience score on the same film. I wasn't expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it's a good film," said the director.
He then said that he was eager to return to the horror films that made him famous in the first place, and that after six years of Shazam, he was done with superheroes for now.
"Just to be clear, I don't regret even for a second making the Shazam movies. I've learned so much and gotten to work with some truly amazing people. Will forever be grateful that I got to direct two of these! They've been very challenging but valuable experiences," Sandberg added.
He also pointed out that he was really looking forward to disconnecting from the superhero discourse online, as a lot of it stresses him out, and it will be nice not to have to think about it anymore.
Fans support the director's decision and thank him for his work on the Shazam movies, which most of them really enjoyed.
"I liked the movie. Love that misfit family. Love the world building on the magical elements. I really wish it hadn't bombed. DC has so many great superheroes outside of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash and Aquaman.
I would love to see more movies involving them. But we won't if movies like Shazam can't make bank. I know Gunn has his line up but that can change at any given moment," Reddit user inksmudgedhands said.
They also wish him luck with his future projects, as another Reddit user, VampireHunterAlex, pointed out:
"He's a talented director nonetheless: I don't blame him for accepting some big paycheck roles. We should be looking forward to what he does next, ignoring what these large studio films paint him as."
Shazam! Fury of the Gods was released last week and is currently in theaters.