It seems like it was only a couple months ago that Shazam! Fury of the Gods kicked off 2023’s lineup of upcoming DC movies… oh wait, it was only a couple months ago! Well, if you missed out on seeing it in theaters or have had a hankering to rewatch it in the comfort of your own home, good news, Fury of the Gods is now available to stream with a Max subscription, and Rachel Zegler, who appeared as Anthea, celebrated the occasion with a funny New Girl meme.
Fury of the Gods’ streaming premiere was among the many ways that HBO Max’s rebranding to Max was highlighted earlier this week, so now you can take it in on the platform while going through the DC movies in order. For her part, Zegler took to her Instagram Stories to share the below pic, and while the selfie might grab your attention first, New Girl fans will get a kick out of the screencap below it of something Max Greenfield’s Schmidt says in the Season 1 episode “Backside.”
“The economy stinks, bees are dying and movies are pretty much all sequels now.” That was first heard when “Backside” premiered on May 1, 2012, and the sentiment pretty much still rings true 11 years later. Naturally Rachel Zegler is honing in on the final portion of the sentence, with Shazam! Fury of the Gods coming out four years after its predecessor. If this New Girl episode was premiering in 2023, I’d also have Schmidt says movies are “pretty much all” sequels and reboots/remakes, but that’s beside the point. By the way, if you now have a hankering to watch New Girl, it can be streamed with either a Hulu subscription or Peacock subscription.
Fury of the Gods saw Billy Batston and the rest of the Shazamily clashing with the Daughters of Atlas, consisting of Zegler’s Anthea, Helen Mirren’s Hespera and Lucy Liu’s Kalypso. While the first Shazam! movie was largely met with positive critical reception, the sequel fell into mixed territory among critics, with our own Eric Eisenberg giving Fury of the Gods 3.5 out of 5 stars in his review. Commercially it fared even worse, making just over $133 million worldwide off a budget reportedly in the $110-$125 million range. Director David F. Sandberg said the “possibility” of more Shazam in the new DC Universe would depend on how many people saw Fury of the Gods, so right now, the chances of Shazam! 3 happening aren’t looking good.
Still, perhaps if enough people stream Shazam! Fury of the Gods on Max, that will prompt DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran to at least consider moving forward with a threequel, or at the very least bring these heroes back in a different project. As for Rachel Zegler, she’s certainly not disappearing from the cinematic space anytime soon. Her other big 2023 new movie release, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, comes out on November 17, and then in 2024, she’ll star as the title character of Disney’s live-action Snow White remake.
