“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” seemingly confused a lot of moviegoers with its surprise cameo featuring the return of Gal Gadot‘s Wonder Woman. The character appears as a deus ex machina toward the end of the film, as Wonder Woman arrives on the scene to resurrect Billy Batson/Shazam from death as she is the only person left with godly powers to do so. Some shaky VFX work led to rumors that Gadot’s face was put on another actor’s body using deepfake technology, but “Shazam” director David F. Sandberg says otherwise.
“A certain cameo in ‘Shazam! Fury Of the Gods’ had to be shot in England, but I couldn’t go because of a visa issue so I directed remotely,” Sandberg wrote on Twitter while sharing a video of himself remotely directing Gadot’s cameo scene. “It wasn’t a deepfake as some believe.”
Gadot can be clearly seen on one of Sandberg’s computer monitors as he directs the cameo, so that should end any speculation she was edited into the movie using deepfake technology. The rumor was fueled by “Shazam 2” set photos that featured Wonder Woman body double Taylor Cahill on the set. The images led many to believe it was Cahill that acted in the scene and not Gadot, but Sandberg also debunked that rumor.
“We shot the scene with Taylor to figure out what coverage we then needed to get with Gal since she couldn’t make it to Atlanta,” Sandberg posted on Twitter. “It’s also Taylor’s body with the wizard’s head on it. There is absolutely no deepfaking going on. When you see Gal it’s 100% her.”
Sandberg originally wanted to keep Gadot’s Wonder Woman cameo a secret, but Warner Bros.’ marketing for the film spoiled her appearance in a TV spot that aired before the film’s theatrical release.
“Well there’s some big ‘Shazam’ spoilers out there now,” Sandberg posted when the spoiler got out. “If you want to go in fresh maybe don’t be online or watch TV with ads… Pretty good advice in general actually.”
As for Gadot, “Shazam 2” might be her final appearance playing Wonder Woman. The actor and her “Wonder Woman” and “Wonder Woman 1984” director Patty Jenkins had been developing a third film in the franchise, but Jenkins exited the project last year amid a DC Universe overhaul that’s being spearheaded by new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran. It remains unclear if Gadot will continue with the role in the new DC Universe.
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is now playing in theaters nationwide.
