Yahoo News Helen Mirren On ‘Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’ Stunt Injury & Her Limited Conception Of What DC Superhero Pic Is About
Academy Award winner Helen Mirren has gotten candid about her experience on Shazam! Fury of the Gods, discussing everything from an on-set injury to her struggle to bear the weight of her costumes and her limited understanding of what the DC superhero pic is actually about.
When talk show host Graham Norton inquired about its plot on Friday’s episode of The Graham Norton show, Mirren deadpanned, “Oh gosh, don’t ask me.”
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The actress admitted that she isn’t, in truth, “a big sort of superhero-y type person.” She explained that she boarded the Shazam! sequel after being taken with the “sweet and funny” qualities of the original Zachary Levi starrer from director David F. Sandberg and Warner Bros, which grossed over $366M worldwide in 2019.
Coming up for release on March 17, Shazam! Fury of the Gods continues the story of teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!”, is transformed into his adult superhero alter ego (Levi) of the same name. Mirren and Lucy Liu are introduced in the sequel as Hespera and Kalypso, villainous Daughters of Atlas who just might bring the world to an end, without the intervention of Billy and his foster siblings.
Mirren did know enough about Fury‘s plot to be able to explain to Norton on Friday that the sisters’ powers “have been taken from them” by Shazam, and that they’re “very cross,” coming back to Earth to reclaim them.
She noted, elsewhere in the conversation, that she and Liu lamented having to wear “unbelievably heavy costumes” to portray their angry goddess characters. “It was very hot and uncomfortable, and in fact, Lucy said at the end of the first day’s shooting, ‘They are trying to kill us,'” Mirren said.
Mirren also proudly shared that she took on some of her own stunts in the film, and has the scars to prove it, so to speak, having broken her finger on one of them. “I was incredibly brave and didn’t say anything because I wanted to be a real stunty person,” the actress said. “So, I didn’t complain.”
The actress can currently be seen starring opposite Harrison Ford in the Yellowstone prequel series 1923, which has been renewed for a second season on Paramount+, having just premiered her drama Golda from director Guy Nattiv at the Berlin Film Festival.
Other projects on the horizon for the actress include Lionsgate’s White Bird: A Wonder Story, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie for Warner Bros, and Universal’s Fast X, to name just a few.
Sandberg returned to direct Shazam! Fury of the Gods from a script by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, with Peter Safran serving as producer. Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good and Djimon Hounsou rounded out the cast.
View segments from Mirren’s appearance on The Graham Norton Show, alongside The Last of Us‘ Pedro Pascal and Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, above and below.
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