Shazam: Fury of the Gods: Helen Mirren joins up as villain Hespera

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Zachary Levi is ready to suit up as Shazam once again as Shazam: Fury of the Gods is gathering its cast together, and it has been reported that Helen Mirren (Hobbs & Shaw) has closed a deal to play the villain Hespera, who is described as a daughter of Atlas.

Not much is known about the role at this point, but THR has added that their sources have told them that Helen Mirren and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), who joined the cast last month, will play sisters "who both may or may not be of ill intent." Along with Zachary Levi, Shazam: Fury of the Gods will also find Asher Angel returning as Billy Batson, the kid-at-heart superhero who is bestowed with the powers of six gods: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.

The finale of Shazam! introduced the Shazam family as Billy Batson's foster family, which includes Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, and Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, were transformed into superheroes themselves. We didn't get to see all that much of this family of superheroes, but that will change with the sequel. During a fan Q&A at DC FanDome last year, director David F. Sandberg says that the Shazam family will "definitely" be more involved in the upcoming sequel.

Now they’re all superheroes, they’re all a family with superpowers. And now we finally get to see that. We only got a glimpse of that in the first movie, so that’s something to look forward to.

Sandberg was also asked about who will be facing off against the Shazam family in the sequel, but obviously couldn't say much. "I can't really talk about villains or villain," said Sanberg. "But I think a lot of people will be surprised. It's gonna be a little unexpected." Given the recent casting, I would consider myself surprised. Shazam: Fury of the Gods is currently slated for a June 2, 2023 release.