Shazam! Fury of the Gods Zachary Levi Talks Shazam!: Fury of the Gods & Superpowers

Allison: So in the first Shazam, I feel like Billy was going through a mental and a physical transformation, and this time around, I feel like it was more emotional. How did you work that into it?

Zachary: Well, I mean, it all starts with the script and Henry Gaydon, who wrote the great first script, wrote this great second script. I mean, there were other writers involved, too, but he was kind of our main guy. And, you know, it starts with the words and the words were great. And Billy's just kind of in a different place in his life now. He's three years older. He's almost 18, which means he, you know, ages out of the foster care. and he's terrified that he's gonna lose his family that he waited so long and fought so hard to finally find and be taken in by. He's also been a leader now of his little super family for about three years and he's still bumbling through that so it feels like an imposter, but a lot of stuff that we all kind of can relate to, anybody really. And then there's these goddesses that are coming down trying to kill him and his siblings 'cause they may or may not have stolen their powers. You know, there's a lot going on.

Allison: When you are in costume and you're sitting at a picnic table and Dame Helen Mirren is sitting across from you. What are you thinking?

Zachary: Wow, you lucky schmuck. I can't believe this is your life. You believe I believed it. I but listen, when I was like four years old, I really do believe that. Like, I don't know the way God beams you something into your mind. I was like, Oh, I know exactly what I'm supposed to be in this life. And I am almost 40 years later, standing on red carpets like this and being like, Oh, yeah, this is what I'm doing. This is what that little four 40-year-old Zach I always believed and now it's here. So when I'm sitting across from Helen Mirren, dame Helen Mirren, and I'm doing this ridiculous scene where I'm negotiating with her over hoagies, quoting "Fast and the Furious," it is beyond surreal, but I'm beyond grateful for it.

Allison: Fun last question. If you had to pick one, superpowers or intersect?

Zachary: Well, superpowers, 'cause I've thought a lot about this. And you see, if I had the wisdom of Solomon, which is one of my powers anyway, but if all I had was the wisdom of Solomon, I would then be wise enough to figure out how to make a super suit that would give me all the other super powers anyway.