After mixed reviews, Shazam! Fury Of The Gods director says he's "definitely done with superheroes for now"

A superhero movie getting roasted by critics isn’t particularly remarkable (especially this year). But for some reason, the Shazam! Fury Of The Gods squad seems to be taking their 53% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes to heart. It’s a contradictory film: top of the box office but also a box office disappointment, critically panned but, apparently, audience-approved. Not to mention that comic book movies are the industry’s most insufferable lightning rod for discourse, with DC films in particular facing scrutiny. With all that going on, it’s perfectly reasonable that someone would want to get off the ride.

So it is for Shazam! director David F. Sandberg. “On Rotten Tomatoes I just got my lowest critic score and my highest audience score on the same film,” he posted to Twitter with a shrug emoji. “I wasn’t expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it’s a good film. Oh well. As I’ve been saying for a while now I’m very eager to go back to horror (as well as trying some new things). After six years of Shazam I’m definitely done with superheroes for now.”

It makes sense to want some change after six years of anything, the superhero scene being no exception. One of the criticisms leveled at the current blockbuster monoculture is that big companies snatch up promising directors at their creative peaks and keep them churning out generic, CGI-based action movies (See: Chloe Zhao, Taika Waititi, and now Daniels). The other side of the argument is that those directors are getting a big paycheck and some cultural cachet that can hopefully be spent making projects outside of superhero homogeneity. In other words, Sandberg has put in his time at the superhero industrial complex and has earned his way to greener pastures.

“Just to be clear, I don’t regret even for a second making the Shazam movies,” he clarifies on Twitter. “I’ve learned so much and gotten to work with some truly amazing people. Will forever be grateful that I got to direct two of these! They’ve been very challenging but valuable experiences. One thing I’ve really been looking forward to is disconnecting from the superhero discourse online. A lot of that stresses me out so much and it will be nice not having to think about that anymore.” And who could blame him?