The trailer for ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ shows a lot of Philly. Most of it is CGI.
You'll see glimpses of Philly in the 'Shazam' sequel trailer, but it's mostly special effects.
We’ve finally gotten a look at Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the sequel to 2019′s Shazam!, with a trailer that shows off plenty of Philly flavor — but almost none of the movie was actually filmed here.
Based on the DC Comics comic book, the Shazam! series follows Billy Batson, a 15-year-old foster child living in Philly who gains superhuman powers and shares them with his foster siblings. This installment takes place a few years after the first film. The group has become well-known Philly heroes and is now doing battle with a group of mysterious mythological sisters known as the Daughters of Atlas.
» READ MORE: Why ‘Shazam!,’ the DC Universe’s next superhero movie, is set in Philly
As the trailer shows, Philly itself plays a part in the setting. We get multiple shots of the Philadelphia skyline, a scene on the Ben Franklin Bridge, some shots at what appears to be Citizens Bank Park, and, weirdly, a truck with a logo for “Katritos Pretzels” in a style that looks suspiciously like Tastykake’s unmistakable brand.
But, here’s the thing — a lot of that appears to be CGI.
Rather than filming a movie that takes place in Philadelphia in Philadelphia, this latest installment in the Shazam! franchise was mostly filmed in Atlanta, according to the movie’s IMDB page.
But, somewhat surprisingly, the production did do “minimal work in Philadelphia,” said Greater Philadelphia Film Office production coordinator Erin Wagner.
That work came in the form of aerial footage shot from a helicopter over a couple spots in South Philly — namely Columbus Playground and Citizens Bank Park. Crews also filmed drone work over a few places in Center City.
Most of what we’re seeing in the trailer is, unfortunately, a stand-in for the city. That’s in line with the first Shazam! movie, which was also set in Philadelphia, but mostly filmed in Toronto. That production, Wagner said, shot special effects at LOVE Park and on the Market Street bridge, had a filming unit on the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, and did “Light Detection and Ranging” — or LiDAR — work to incorporate Center City buildings into shots in postproduction.
To be fair, though, we’re still getting a little lucky, considering that Shazam! hasn’t always been set in Philly. Dating back to 1939, the Shazam character was originally known as Captain Thunder (and later Captain Marvel). Writer Bill Parker and artist C.C. Beck developed the story to be set in New York City. That setting later changed to “Fawcett City,” after original owner Fawcett Comics, where Shazam lived until the new millennium.
In 2012, writer Geoff Johns, who was then DC’s chief creative officer, rebooted the series as what is now known as Shazam!: Origins and placed young Billy in Philadelphia.
All that said, the first Shazam movie was well-received by viewers. It has a 90% rating on movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. So, we’re willing to give this one a chance — even if they did mostly avoid filming here.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is scheduled for a Dec. 21 release.