While 2019’s Shazam leaned into the humor, heart, and absurdity of its superhero, this year’s sequel is floundering at the box office, and it’s at least partly due to Warner Bros. and the Rock’s total mismanagement of a certain antihero. Shazam was a unique change of pace for the DCEU, which was slowly but surely crawling out of the grimdark pit they were left in by Zack Snyder’s vision of the universe. Directed by David F. Sandberg and lead by the crowd-winning duo of Asher Angel and Zachary Levi, it perfectly captured the childlike wonder of Billy Batson’s superheroics and mixed in just the right amount of emotional growth.
