Shazam! Fury of the Gods writer confirms gay character

The writers of Shazam! Fury of the Gods have said one character in the superhero family is gay. (Image: Warner Bros)

"I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that," says writer Henry Gayden.

One of the writers of the new Shazam! Fury of the Gods flick has confirmed that one superhero character identifies as gay.

Henry Gayden, who wrote 2019’s Shazam! was joined by Chris Morgan in a recent interview to discuss the new movie.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods sees Billy Batson (Asher Angel) return as his superhero form (Zachary Levi) to fight a new enemy.

Once again, Batson/Shazam’s fellow foster children join him. At the end of the last film, they also became superheroes – The Shazam family. One of those is Pedro Peña, played as a child by Jovan Armand and as an adult by D. J. Cotrona.

“I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that and bringing that to the fore in this movie”

Speaking to Dorkaholics, Gayden discussed diversity in the upcoming film.

“The only new addition for this movie is being a lot more forthright about Pedro being gay. And that was hinted at in the first movie very subtly,” said Gayden.

Continuing he also said: “And I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that and bringing that to the fore in this movie.”

Meagan Good as Dara Dudley, Grace Caroline Currey as Mary Bromfield, and D.J. Cotrona as Pedro Peña in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. (Image: Warner Bros)

It’s unclear exactly how this element of Pedro’s character will be incorporated into Fury of the Gods.

Marvel has struggled with LGBTQ representation for years. While they have delivered several queer characters, their queerness has so often been sidelined, minimised, or subtley hinted at.

A synopsis for Fury of the Gods reads: “Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with having adult Super Hero alter-egos.

“But when the Daughters of Atlas, a vengeful trio of ancient gods, arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Billy—aka Shazam—and his family are thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of their world.”

The film also stars Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Djimon Hounsou, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in UK cinemas on 17 March 2023.