By Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross LOS ANGELES, March 16 (Reuters) –

Helen Mirren, the Oscar successful actor for “The Queen,” wasn’t precisely a fan of superhero movies, however then she noticed “Shazam!” and felt a connection. “I loved the first “Shazam!” film and it was one of many few superhero-ey sort films that I’d seen, and I beloved it,” Mirren told Reuters. “It was humorous, it was charming, however it had this actual coronary heart to it.”

So when she was offered a role as the bold antagonist Hespera in the sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” Mirren was more than pleased to enroll. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” the twelfth installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), arrives in film theaters on Friday, and brings again actor Zachary Levi within the function of Shazam, the grownup superhero alter ego of foster youth, Billy Batson.

The sequel is the primary DCEU movie since filmmaker James Gunn was named co-head of Warner Bros Discovery and introduced the brand new DC slate. “It’s something that everyone in the whole family gets to enjoy together – maybe not the littlest of kids, it can get a little gnarly and dark and creatures and monsters and some death and stuff,” stated Levi.

The 2019 “Shazam!” introduces a foster youth named Billy Batson, performed by Asher Angel, as he’s assigned to a brand new foster household and out of the blue granted superpowers from a wizard making him, and ultimately his foster siblings, grownup superheroes. This time round, Billy and his foster siblings should battle the Daughters of Atlas, who’re based mostly on mythological Greek goddesses and are on a quest for the magic powers stolen from them.

Joining Mirren within the goddess trio are “Charlie’s Angels” actor Lucy Liu as Kalypso and “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler as Anthea. “Your protagonist is only as good as the antagonist,” Liu stated. “You want them to be strong and have a foundation and a spine that is going to match up, if not better, because that makes the story that much stronger.”

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)