Warner Bros. Announces Major Additions to the DCEU Roster
Warner Bros. and DC Comics Are Ramping Up Casting For Their Upcoming Projects.
Following the release of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League Cut” on HBO Max, the DC Extended Universe is gearing up for its upcoming films, with three major casting choices having been announced over the past two days.
Academy Award winner Helen Mirren will be playing the villainous Hespera in the “Shazam!” sequel “Fury of the Gods”. Despite being well known for more grounded dramatic work, Mirren is no stranger to action. She hammed it up as Jason Statham’s sadistic mother Queenie in the eighth “Fast and The Furious” movie, a role that she will reprise in this summer’s ninth installment.
The first “Shazam!” was a critical and commercial success for DC, despite a lower budget than usual, making $366 million worldwide. Zachary Levi will reprise his role as the child like adult superhero.
Staying in the world of “Shazam!” for DC’s next major casting announcement, the spinoff film “Black Adam” has Pierce Brosnan making his superhero movie debut as Kent Nelson, aka Dr. Fate. The former James Bond is the final piece of the casting puzzle for the big screen debut of the Justice Society, a precursor to the Justice League, known for a more multi-generational approach when compared to its high profile successor.
The film will follow Dwayne Johnson as the titular antihero and nemesis of Shazam. Besides Brosnan, the ret of the Justice Society consists of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.
The final DC casting announcement is actually a recasting. For the much anticipated “Flash” movie, Ron Livingston will replace Billy Crudup in the role of Henry Allen, the father of Barry Allen. Crudup played the role in “Justice League”, and was set to reprise his role in the standalone Flash movie as well. However, due to pandemic delays and scheduling conflicts with his Apple series “The Morning Show”, he had to drop out. This allows Livingston, known for his roles in “Office Space” and “The Conjuring” to take over the part. Ezra Miller will reprise his role as Barry Allen, and Maribel Verdu will play his mother Nora.
These casting decisions show that DC continues to mix A-list names with up and coming talent as a way to expand their growing universe. With production expected to start on these films soon, you can expect more exciting announcements like this in the weeks and months ahead.
How do you feel about DC’s latest casting choices? Do you feel each actor will fit their part? Let us know in the comments below!