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‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ endures more infamy as it comes under fire for seriously ‘uncomfortable’ joke

This film just can't catch a break.

shazam fury of the gods
Photo via Warner Bros.

It’s a new day, and the internet has found a new way to hate on Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The DC sequel has borne the brunt of social’s media scorn since it entered theaters a week ago, which feels like overkill given that the Zachary Levi vehicle has also had to endure the embarrassment of flopping hard at the box office too. But, hey, apparently there’s nothing folks on Twitter love more than kicking a movie when it’s down as Shazam! 2 is coming under fire all over again thanks to a controversial joke.

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The most talked-about scene in Fury of the Gods has to be Wonder Woman’s cameo, with Gal Gadot herself returning as the Amazonian princess. This would’ve been an epic surprise, if Warner Bros. hadn’t completely given the game away in the marketing, much to the chagrin of director David F. Sandberg. That’s not the only gripe that fans have with the sequence, though, as an exchange between Levi’s Billy Batson and Gadot’s Diana Prince is getting blasted for being “uncomfortable.”

Twitter user @Croc_Block started the conversation by highlighting what they felt was a troubling gag that took what could’ve been an “iconic moment” and made it “incredibly lame.”

For context for those that either can’t remember the specifics or never bothered to go see Shazam! 2 in the first place, Wonder Woman’s cameo ends with Billy awkwardly flirting with Diana, arguing that it’s OK if they go on a date because his 18th birthday’s coming up and, though he has Zeus’ power, they’re not really related. Do we need to explain the ick factor here?

Nevertheless, some think the intention was fine, but the delivery was the problem.

They really wasted the chance to have a classy mythological moment here.

The fact that Levi and Gadot were clearly nowhere near each other when delivering their lines definitely had an impact.

Or maybe it’s just a light-hearted scene that we really don’t need to complain about this much.

https://twitter.com/hippiespiderman/status/1638719617962065920

This last tweet might have a point, but you can bet that if this turns out to be Gal Gadot’s final time in the DCU, then fans will be arguing over her Shazam! Fury of the Gods cameo for a long while yet.