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Shazam: Fury of the Gods director David Sandberg seems like he’s in limbo like the rest of us on the future of the Shazam movies. On one hand, that’s not that unusual. Even most superhero movie sequels aren’t announced until well after its predecessor’s release date. Though it’s just kind of assumed at this point any successful superhero movie will be getting additional installments. And the first Shazam was successful, both at the box office and with critics – a feat not achieved all that often with these DC movies. But since the production of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, James Gunn has taken over and Sandberg said there’s been no direct discussions about Shazam’s (and Sandberg’s) future at DC one way or another. In a video shared on social media, the only clue Gunn has given was he said the world of Shazam is kind of its own thing and that this new film can fit into the direction Gunn is taking the DC universe, but nothing about Shazam’s fate after that.

In Shazam: Fury of the Gods, as we left off in the last film, young Billy Batson (Asher Angel plays the young version; Zachery Levi plays the super-powered version, Shazam) and his adopted all now have the ability to turn into muscular, adult superhero versions of themselves. They are tested early on during a bridge collapse and … sort of spectacularly fail and become the laughingstocks of the greater Philadelphia area. Complicating things, three gods (Helen Miran, Lucy Liu, Rachel Zegler) have come to Earth in search of an ancient staff that will bring them immortal powers, while stealing the powers away from Billy’s family and capturing his foster brother, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer, who is again terrific). And now Billy, as Shazam, needs to broker peace with the gods or try to destroy them.

Ahead, as stated earlier, Sandberg tries to tell us what he knows and what he doesn’t know about the future of these movies – and, frankly, after directing two of them if he even wants to do another. (At the very least, he does seem to want the time to do a small horror movie.) And he explains the tricky dynamic of having four actors play the two lead characters and having to use the plot to make sure Jack Dylan Grazer’s Freddy Freeman is on the screen a lot. Also, kind of surprisingly, the name Captain Marvel is actually mentioned during the course of Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Which is Shazam’s original character name from the comics, but is now an very tricky legal issue with Marvel’s character of the same name. Sandberg explains how that all happened.

How are you doing?

Doing good. Just starting the whole press thing and, yeah, finally getting the movie out there and getting people to see it.

So the name Captain Marvel is actually spoken in this movie, kind of as a joke. But with the whole issue with Marvel’s version, does that have to run through the legal department?

Well, I actually didn’t think we were going to be allowed to say it. When we were shooting that scene, he actually had a different line. But I was like, well, let’s do a take where you call him Captain Marvel. We’re not going to be able to use it, but let’s just get it. And then I was talking to the guys at DC and I was like, can we put it in the movie? Is that okay? And they were like, “Well, yeah, I mean, Marvel mentioned Superman and Batman, or whatever, in Eternals and different movies.

They do mention Superman in that, yes.

Yeah. So it’s like, why not? They can’t say anything.

That would be a funny lawsuit. I would enjoy it at least. I don’t think you would, but it would be entertaining.

Well, it wouldn’t affect me. I’d enjoy it too.

I was disappointed, once again, no Captain Hill-Billy.

Actually, at one point when we were figuring out what the story would be for this one, we actually had a version where Tawky Tawny would be in it, the talking tiger.

Wait really?

Yeah. There was a way. But that story didn’t really work, so we had to go with this story instead. And then there was no organic way to get him in there. Because you can’t just have a talking tiger show up and be a part of the gang without people going like, “Wait, how does that work?”

Don’t even explain it.

He’s just there.

Okay so Shazam is Captain Marvel in the books, but it works just calling him Shazam in the movie. But it doesn’t work for Captain Marvel Jr. And in this movie, he’s referred to as “Captain Every Power” a lot. Where did that come from?

Well, that was another thing because we were like, oh, he should make up some dumb name for himself. We had a lot of versions of Captain and some word or the thing. And what we found out was that they were all taken.

Really?

There are too many superheroes! Because it’s like there are thousands of them out there that you never hear of, but they’re still trademarked and copyrighted. So it’s like finally we got it down to just like, well, there’s no one called Captain Every Power, so let’s just use that. It was a real struggle to finding a captain or something that wasn’t taken.

That would be a funny headline. “The director of the Shazam movies: There are just too many superheroes.”

Yeah.

I know before the first Shazam there was talk of using Black Adam. Was that ever a plan for the second movie, before he got his own movie?

No, because we knew that they were doing a separate Black Adam. We knew that he wasn’t going to be a big part of the movie. So we got Helen Mirren instead.

She looks like she’s having a lot of fun. I hope that’s the case.

Definitely. I mean, she doing her own stunts and breaking fingers and stuff.

I didn’t know she did her own stunts.

She did a lot of stuff. We put her on wires and when she gets picked up by Zach and stuff like that, that’s actually her. That’s why we did an angle from the top. So we need to see your face so people see that we really did it. There were certain stunts that we had to tell her, no, you can’t do that. We need to do it with a stunt person.

So, with the new management at DC, have you talked to James Gunn? In his announcement, he said the Shazam movies worked because they are their own thing. Have you had conversations with him? Do these get to continue?

I haven’t had a big conversation with him and Peter [Safran] yet. He’s been a part of little marketing meetings and stuff, but no further conversations yet. He’s been pretty busy I think, for both of us.

I’m just trying to get into your head a bit. You finally cracked Shazam, made a movie that a lot of people liked. And now everything’s being redone. But I don’t know what you’ve heard or what you haven’t heard or what you can even tell me…

I don’t know what the exact plans are. I mean, for me, I take it just one movie at a time. When we did the first one, I didn’t expect to do a second one, but that still happened. So we’ll see. I mean, for right now, I’m just like I just want to make a little horror movie or something now. I just did two Shazams in a row. But, I mean, if they want to do more, hey, I’m open to it. Let’s talk. But we’ll see.

I didn’t even think about that aspect of it, that a lot of directors don’t want to do more than a couple of these because they take up so much time and energy.

Yeah, they’re very exhausting. It just takes a very long time. And it’s scary, putting all your sort of eggs into one basket. You work three years and then what if it doesn’t work? And it’s like, Oh. So, horror movies are nice because you can do one a year and get them out there.

The dynamic in the Shazam movies seems tricky, because you have four actors who play two characters. In the first movie, what worked so well was Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer. But now they both have powers. It did seem like the movie looks for plot excuses to have these two together.

Yeah. I mean, especially with Jack.

Yeah, he’s great in this.

You want to see him. So you kind of have to take his powers away. Because otherwise, he’d be a superhero all the time and you want to see Jack. And I think what worked out really well is the dynamic with him and the Wizard, to have Djimon Hounsou as the straight man and pair the two of them up.

Like Jack’s line in the dungeon, “Is this a tooth? There’s a tooth in here.”

That’s Jack. That’s what he wanted.

Oh, he did that?

Yeah, because I mean, the production designers, when they made that dungeon and everything, they put clothes, bones and teeth in there. But that’s genuine, him going, “What? Is this a tooth in here?” He actually picks one up and that’s like perfect. And that’s why it’s so great to work with people like Jack or Zach. They don’t stick to the scripts all the time, but it’s great because they come up with such fun stuff.

Asher Angel is really great as young Billy, but we’re going to see a lot more of Zachary in this movie than we do him. Is it weird to be like, “Hey, you’re really good, but it’s not going to be as big a part this time”?

Yeah, I mean, it is unfortunate. I mean, we try to balance this as much as we can. But, I mean, it makes sense that a lot of the movie they are in danger and they are fighting. So, of course, he would be in his superhero form. So it’s a tricky balance, but I think the cast was all okay with it and to do their different sizes of parts.

I know you said there haven’t been any meetings, and that you want to do a horror movie next, but what are you feeling with the future of Shazam?

There’s certainly much more you can do. I mean with the Shazam and the family. And there’s a lot of great villains from the Shazam universe as well. I’d love to see more with Mr. Mind, not just because I do the voice for him. But I mean, he’s just such a unique character because it’s silly in one way because he’s just a little worm. But he is really intelligent and dangerous and he has other forms as well. He can Hyperfly form and things like that in the comics.

So in the version I saw, there were no end credit scenes, but I was told they’re just not ready yet. But I can’t help but think, does that mean they had to be redone because of the new regime?

No.

Okay.

No. I mean, they exist. I think it’s more like wanting to save something for the fans on opening day and all that stuff.

I see, okay.

So it doesn’t all get out there.

Okay, I was wondering if there was a Black Adam tease that’s pretty obviously not happening now.

No. They’re mostly just fun little scenes. It’s not like, “Here’s the new Superman.” I can’t spoil too much, but you get to see some characters that are fun to see.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods opens in theaters everywhere on March 17th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are touring for the first time together since 2017, an international run that began stateside in early February.

Uproxx reviewed the St. Paul, Minnesota stop earlier this month, a poignant take on mortality and “a kick-ass band” that is inevitably “closing a circle” on its eternal legacy. Springsteen and The E Street Band have grown into larger-than-life giants over the past five-plus decades, but make no mistake: They are still mere mortals.

There have been literal reminders of that over the past few days. On Saturday, March 11, Springsteen’s official Twitter account announced Sunday’s (March 12) scheduled show at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut was postponed “due to illness.”

An identical announcement was made on Sunday — this time, the postponed show is MVP Arena in Albany, New York originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 14.

No rescheduled dates have been announced yet, but fans are encouraged to “hold on to your tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled show.”

Steven Van Zandt also chimed in to put fans at ease. “No need to be anxious or afraid,” he tweeted. “Nothing serious. Just a temporary situation. We will all be back in full force very soon.”

In a separate tweet, Van Zandt clarified, “Postponed. We don’t cancel.”

Shortly after the tour began, Springsteen performed without three E Street Band members in Dallas because Van Zandt and Soozie Tyrel tested positive for COVID-19 (as relayed by Billboard on February 13).

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Miley Cyrus’ recent run of domination continue and Calvin Harris reunite with a classic collaborator. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Flash newsletters.

Miley Cyrus — “Muddy Feet”

Endless Summer Vacation has to have been one of the year’s most-anticipated albums so far, and now it’s finally here. If you thought “Flowers” was the only track where she appears to address ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, think again, as some think that “Muddy Feet” (a Sia collaboration, by the way) confirms a long-running rumor.

6lack — “Talkback”

It took nearly 6 years for 6lack to follow his 2018 album East Atlanta Love Letter, but he’s doing so soon with Since I Have A Lover, which is set to drop in a couple weeks. He previewed it last week with “Talkback,” a smooth number on which he refuses to let enemies get the best of him.

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding — “Miracle”

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding are something of a dream team, with successful collaborations like “I Need Your Love” and “Outside” already under their belt. Well, they’ve done it again, as they reunited last week on “Miracle,” which sees them pump out a banger in a throwback trance-like aesthetic.

Tame Impala — “Wings Of Time”

The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie is getting a wide release soon and Tame Impala was thrilled to get involved by contributing a new song, “Wings Of Time.” In fact, hip-fracturer Kevin Parker said the invitation “seemed like an unmissable opportunity to indulge in my long-time love of fantasy prog rock.”

Angel Olsen — “Nothing’s Free”

It hasn’t even been a year since Angel Olsen dropped her latest album, Big Time, but new music is already on the way. She announced the Forever Means EP last week and also shared “Nothing’s Free,” a solemn track on which the singer reckons with getting older.

Fever Ray — “Even It Out”

After five years away in terms of albums, Fever Ray returned last week with Radical Romantics. Naturally, songs like “Even It Out” are as boundary-pushing as ever, and the video even has a nice surprise for Nine Inch Nails fans.

NLE Choppa — “Mo Up Front”

NLE Choppa has a hotly anticipated new album, Cottonwood 2, on the way soon, from which the rapper dropped “Mo Up Front” last week. Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes of the tune, “Over a rattling percussion beat, he is fully aware of his rap superstardom, making it known that if he plans to make any sort of appearance, he’s going to need people to pay up.”

Meet Me @ The Altar — “TMI”

Meet Me @ The Altar stirred up plenty of anticipation for their debut album Past // Present // Future. Now, what was once the future is present and waiting for the album is in the past, as it’s here now. It came at a perfect time, too, as punk-pop-influenced music like this is in the midst of a renaissance and “TMI” is a shining, catchy example of it.

Twice — “Set Me Free”

With BTS temporarily out of the game, there’s more room for K-pop peers like Twice to shine even brighter and get some more deserved attention. They just dropped a new EP, Ready To Be, and a video for “Set Me Free,” and even just gave the upbeat jam a killer performance on The Tonight Show.

Blxst — “Passionate” Feat. Roddy Ricch

While Blxst continues to toe the line between singer and rapper, he’s had no trouble getting some of hip-hop’s elite in his corner. In “Passionate” (a highlight from his new Just For Clarity 2 EP), Roddy Ricch joins in on the sultry number.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Triangle of Sadness was Charlbi Dean’s breakout performance. It was also sadly her last. Dean died of bacterial sepsis last August at 32 years old. The sepsis was “complicating asplenia,” which is the absence of a spleen, due to “remote blunt force trauma to [her] torso,” a spokesperson for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner told the Hollywood Reporter.

Her friends and family probably expected to see Dean, the star of a movie nominated for Best Picture, in the “In Memoriam” segment during Sunday’s Oscars. But she was left out of the live ceremony:

Charlbi Dean — who had a lead role in Triangle of Sadness, a film nominated for three Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture — was not featured in the segment during the live show on Sunday night… A rep for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declined to comment on record about the absence of their names.

“It is an honor to have gotten to know and work with her. Charlbi had a care and sensitivity that lifted her colleagues and the entire film crew,” Triangle of Sadness writer and director Ruben Östlund wrote following Dean’s passing. “The thought that she will not be by our side in the future makes me very sad. At this difficult time, my thoughts go out to her loved ones, her family and her fiance Luke.”

Unlike the Oscars, Dean is being remembered on social media.

(Via People)

(Spoilers from The Boys will be found below.)

Amazon’s The Boys has put several iconic scenes to the screen thus far, but one would be hard pressed to find a more “hell yeah” moment than when Queen Maeve made this face ^^^^ while doing battle against Homelander. That physical clash had been a long time coming and probably sourced back way before Maeve had to witness him sending a plane full of civilians to their deaths. And Maeve was thrilled to finally push back at the baddest Supe of all, which also led to a wonderful outcome (aside from losing an eye) for her.

Well, in the eyes of the public, Maeve died after saving everyone from an exploding Soldier Boy, but this did allow her to finally retire from the Supe life that she hated so much. Even the greater Vought International entity didn’t know that she was still alive because Ashley (in a rare display of humanity) erased the footage that would prove that Maeve survived. So, Maeve got to head into private life with her partner. Fast forward to this years’s Oscars, and an unaware Vought International decided to pay tribute to the Dawn of the Seven and Her Majesty star on Twitter.

In response, The Boys‘ Twitter account honored Maeve by taking the p*ss, like the account is so great at doing on most occasions: “Loved when she said ‘It’s Maeven Time!’ and Maeved all over those guys.”

Maeve probably would have loved to see this, but hopefully, she wasn’t watching the Supie Awards.

The Boys‘ Season 3 finale is currently streaming on Amazon, and hopefully, we’ll see a Season 4 release date soon.

While it’s not that strange for actors to lend their voices to video games, it’s less common for a video game voice actor to reprise their role for an on-screen adaptation.

In 2013, Ashley Johnson voiced Ellie in The Last Of Us, which went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Of course, when the time came to adapt the hit game into a series a decade later, Johnson was not in the running for playing teenage Ellie on the HBO series, as she was well into her thirties. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be involved at all!

Johnson ended up guest starring in the season finale of The Last Of Us this week, portraying Ellie’s mom Anna in a flashback, who is forced to give birth while living in the terrifying Cordyceps–infected wasteland.

While there is talk of Ellie’s mother Anna in the game, this is the first time the fans are given some back story and context. Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter that she was shocked but delighted to be a part of the monumental series (after a quick cry):

I got a text from Neil and he said, “Hey, Craig and I were talking and would you like to play Ellie’s mother?” And I just burst into tears. Of course I would love to. It’s a shock because when video game adaptations move to film or TV generally, the voice actors or motion capture actors aren’t usually brought along to be part of that project. So I was just shocked, it’s not the norm. Being able to still be a part of this story and this world and to also be the first character that fights for this character to live means the world.

While Johnson admitted that it was “strange” to see her familiar characters played by new actors, she applauded Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s performances. “I feel like with Bella and Pedro [Pascal], I feel like they’ve elevated the characters. They’ve brought their own imprint and I’m so glad that they’ve had the space to make it their own and play the characters how they see them. I’m so blown away by Bella, I think she’s absolutely incredible. I think this would have been hard if it was someone that was not great.”

Johnson wasn’t the only original voice actor to join the show– Joel’s original voice actor Tory Baker also stopped by for a cameo this season, though his cameo involved some good old-fashion cannibalism.

We certainly have not seen the last of The Last Of Us, which was renewed for another season earlier this year, so Johnson could very well come back for another flashback or side plot. Maybe one where she isn’t in constant danger would be nice!

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Last year, Drake surprised fans with not just one, but two albums. The second, Her Loss, was a joint album released alongside 21 Savage and instantly became a fan favorite. As the new dynamic duo rolled out singles like “Spin Bout U” and generated memes thanks to “Rich Flex,” fans couldn’t help but wonder whether they’d eventually announce a tour for the project.

Those fans got their wish today as Drake and 21 announced their It’s All A Blur Tour, which kicks off in New Orleans in June and circles the US and Canada, leading to a final show in Glendale, Arizona in September. However, even though a press release said that more dates will be announced in the future, fans overseas might not get the opportunity to see the two perform together anytime soon.

Will Drake & 21 Savage Tour In The UK And Europe?

Unfortunately, that might not be a possibility this year. 21 Savage is still locked into a longstanding grievance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which could prevent him from being able to travel outside the US. You may remember that he was arrested in February 2019 due to an expired visa; he immigrated to the US from the UK with his mom as a young teen and did not realize that his visa had expired. The case was still in limbo as of last April. While there are a few Canadian dates on the lineup, a UK tour might be riskier.

Savage’s fellow Brit MF DOOM faced a similar situation when he went on an international tour in 2010, discovering that he could not reenter the country afterward despite living and working here for most of his adult life. Unless 21’s immigration case can get sorted by the time the North American frame of the tour ends, it wouldn’t be a great idea for him to travel outside the US, lest he get stuck on the outside looking in.

The NFL opened its “legal tampering” window on Monday — which is a ridiculous phrase since, by definition, tampering can’t be legal — where teams and players can negotiate free agent contracts.

While most were focused on the quarterback market and, in particular, the future of Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and whether he would end up with the Jets who have been pursuing him this offseason, a big name at the running back position made the biggest early headline. Not long after free agency opened, word broke that Chargers star running back Austin Ekeler was seeking permission to find a trade after contract talks with L.A. stalled.

Over the last two seasons Ekeler has been one of the most productive backs in the NFL, with 38 rushing and receiving touchdowns (the most by any player in the league in that time frame, and has been one of the most consistent presences for the Chargers offense. Ekeler’s value is particularly elevated by his ability to catch passes out of the backfield (177 receptions over the last two years), which could make him an intriguing target for offenses looking to add some balance to their passing game. Fantasy owners will be particularly intrigued by where Ekeler goes, as he’s been a monster in fantasy for some time because of how he racks up TDs and, for those in PPR leagues, how many receptions he gets.

For the Chargers, losing Ekeler would be big, but might not be a complete disaster depending on who they could replace him with. As far as rushing the ball, Ekeler could be replaced, and while they won’t find anyone who can catch the ball like he can out of the backfield, that might not be the worst thing in the world. Justin Herbert is a wildly talented young quarterback who can be a bit too quick to check it down, in part because Ekeler is so good and reliable catching the ball out of the backfield. Forcing Herbert to throw the ball downfield more often by simply removing that safety valve may end up being good for the Chargers in the long run, even if there might be growing pains in Ekeler’s absence initially.

Shakira recently told Univision that her son, Milan, encouraged her to work with Bizarrap. And so, Shakira collaborated with Bizarrap on “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” a top-10 Billboard Hot 100 hit. Everybody won, right?

Nope!

“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” takes aim at retired Barcelona and Spain soccer great Gerard Piqué, who dated Shakira for the better part of 11 years and shares two sons with her (Milan and Sasha). Bizarrap and Shakira performed the world’s most popular diss track on Friday’s (March 10) The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Adele was watching.

During Adele’s ongoing Weekends With Adele Las Vegas residency, she asked an audience member to name their “favorite band or artist.” The fan initially said Adele, which was not an acceptable answer, and eventually said, “I also like Shakira.”

Animated as ever, Adele responded, “Oh! I saw her performance last night on Jimmy Fallon! Her ex-husband’s in trouble!” (Piqué and Shakira were never married, but the point still stands.)

Piqué spoke for himself during a Twitch livestream in January. “Casio sent us wrist watches,” he said (as translated from Spanish to English by Marca). “We reached a sponsorship agreement with Casio.” In the song, Shakira says, “I’m worth two 22-year-olds / You traded in a Ferrari for a Twingo / You traded in a Rolex for a Casio.”

And then Casio handed Piqué another L by publicly denying any such deal.

Watch Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” performance on Fallon above, or watch their sit-down interview with Fallon below.

During the latest episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver went deep on Temporary Assistance For Needy Families, or TANF, a program that’s supposed to help lift families out of property. Instead, it routinely fails, and in the case of Brett Favre, it apparently enhanced the lives of the wealthy. The former NFL quarterback has been embroiled in a scandal in Mississippi where he allegedly helped to arrange for welfare funds from TANF to build a $5 million volleyball stadium at his daughter’s college. It was a gross misuse of public funds, and Oliver meticulously skewered Favre over the scandal.

“I’m a little surprised you even need a stadium to play volleyball in,” Oliver quipped. “I thought it was a sport mainly played outdoors by sexually frustrated men who aren’t wearing shirts and sporty dogs who unexpectedly are. But clearly, I was wrong about that.”

The late night host then went to town on text messages from Favre where he specifically asks, “Is there any way the media can find out where it came from and how much?”

“Brett, I have some terrible news for you,” Oliver said. “The media did find out. That’s what’s happening right now.”

Oliver then highlighted how needy families rarely qualify for TANF benefits in Mississippi, which makes the Favre scandal all the more egregious.

“That’s pretty infuriating to hear,” he said. “And it gets even worse when you learn that in Mississippi last year of roughly 190,000 children living in poverty, just 2,600 were receiving money from TANF while, remember, of the roughly one Brett Favres in Mississippi, 100% of them managed to get $5 million for this f*cking volleyball stadium. It’s enough to make you want to see Brett Favre hit in the nuts with a football.”

Oliver then noted that, legally, Favre claims that he did nothing wrong and that the NFL star had no idea where the funds were coming from. He also returned $1.1 million that he was personally paid, but Oliver isn’t buying his excuse.

“It’s not clear exactly where he thought the money was coming from,” the Last Week Tonight host said. “Perhaps he thinks there’s some pot of taxpayer money that he can just dip his sausage fingers into whenever he needs something. I don’t know. He’s been hit in the head a lot. Not enough, but a lot.”