Actor Helen Mirren to play villain in 'Shazam: Fury Of The Gods'

WASHINGTON: British actor Helen Mirren has been signed on to play the role of villain in the upcoming New Line and DC Films' 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods', the sequel to the box office hit 'Shazam!'.

According to Deadline, Mirren will portray the role of Hespera, a daughter of Atlas in 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods', which will continue the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word "SHAZAM!" is struck by the Living Lightning of the gods and transformed into his adult superhero alter ego.

Levi will be reprising his role as the kid-at-heart superhero who is bestowed with the powers of six gods: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.

While Shazam is a formidable champion, Billy is still just a fun-loving kid trying to navigate high school while learning how to use his powers.

The same team which was behind the filmmaking of 'Shazam!' will be reuniting to create the sequel. David F. Sandberg will direct the movie from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and Peter Safran will be producing through The Safran Company.

The movie based on the DC character created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck was the No. 1 film worldwide on its opening weekend in 2019. It went on to earn over USD 366 million worldwide on a relatively modest budget for a superhero film.

As per Deadline, Mirren won an Oscar and a BAFTA for her performance in 'The Queen', a Tony Award and an Olivier Award for the same role in 'The Audience', three BAFTA Television Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and five SAG Awards for various roles.

Her diverse body of work includes a starring role in the upcoming anthology series 'Solos' as well as the film 'F9', reprising her role as Queenie from the latest Fast and Furious installment.