Our own Chris Bumbray is on the scene at CinemaCon in Las Vegas and the Warner Bros. presentation has been one of the most anticipated of the week. The studio has already spilled several major announcements but here’s one that I wish I was in the room for — Michael Keaton reprising the role of Batman in new footage from The Flash.
Ezra Miller’s recent troubles with the law weren’t addressed, but they were front and center in the trailer. Our first glimpse of Michael Keaton as Batman in The Flash footage comes from the back, with Bruce Wayne seemingly having become a long-haired recluse. He steps back into the role of Batman thanks to Barry Allen and the trailer ended with a full reveal of Michael Keaton in the Batsuit, with the exception of the cowl, as he says, “You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts!” Here’s hoping the rest of us will get to see this trailer soon!
As this is Warner Bros. we’re talking about, there were plenty of other superhero movies to go around. When CinemaCon host Aisha Tyler mentioned the word Shazam, Zachary Levi ran out on stage, followed closely by Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Helen Mirren. Young Billy Batson (Angel) is on the verge of his 18th birthday in Shazam: Fury of the Gods and is afraid that he’ll have to leave his foster family.
The trailer opens with Shazam on a date with Wonder Woman, although it’s quickly revealed to be a fantasy when her face is revealed to be Djimon Hounsou’s wizard, who warns Shazam of what’s about to come. Zachary Levi said that the sequel will use the same balance of genres as the first movie, as they didn’t want to veer too far away from what worked in the first movie. There’s also a scene with Shazam sharing a fast-foot meal with Helen Mirren where he makes a joke about seeing all of the Fast & Furious movies.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods will hit theaters on December 16, 2022 with The Flash following on June 23, 2023.