Shazam 2 just got a new Demi- God Villain Hespera and here’s all we know about her.
The sequel to the 2019’s superhero film “Shazam” is coming and it just got an amazing new villain cast to add to the film’s magic. Well, it is still unclear if they are a villain or a hero but we have a few guesses about the character’s morality. The official Shazam Twitter account announced that Helen Mirren would star as a villain in the superhero sequel Shazam. She would be playing the role of Hespera, daughter of the god Atlas. Her joining the cast would definitely bring a blast to the movie with her amazing acting skills and long experience. However, Hespera hasn’t been seen in any DC projects yet so there is not much that we know about her but based on the Greek mythology we have concluded about the character and her motivations.
Hespera: The Demi God
DC comics and movies have a lot of characters based on Greek mythology and its Gods. Wonder Woman for instance features Ares, the god of war and Zeus was also referenced in the movie. Similarly, Shazam gets his power from the attributes of 6 Greek gods, one of which is Altas whose Stamina has been gifted to the wielder of the power of Shazam. According to the mythology, Atlas has three nymph daughters who are called Hesperides collectively. The daughters were responsible for giving off the light at sunset. They also nurtured and protected the garden with the golden apple tree (a gift given to Zeus’ wife) along with the other treasures of the gods. She is hailed as the goddess of immortality and her moral compass is neutral.
Since her morality is unknown it can be expected that she is one of the few people who end up doing the wrong things for the right reasons. It could be that Billy Batson accidentally stumbled upon the god’s treasures and took something that he thought was cool without thinking of the consequences. Since he is actually still a young boy, it is entirely possible. Following his actions, Hespera gets infuriated at him and wreaks havoc on Earth in order to retrieve the stolen treasure. Although her intentions wouldn’t be evil, but hurting and scaring humans would still portray her as the villain. Or perhaps Hespera would target Billy in order to take his powers since he received Atlas’ stamina and she desires that strength all for herself.
How would Hespera add to the magic of the movie
In the first Shazam movie, we saw young Billy facing off against Dr. Sivana, a mere human obsessed with magical powers. Although he was not a bad villain for a hero who only recently got his powers and is still a kid, But when the kid wields the powers of the gods, only a tough villain can push him to his limits and thereby enable us to see the true potential of the hero. That is where Hespera comes in, Sivana was just a scientist but Hespera has the power of a god just like the hero so she would serve as the perfect opponent for Shazam. Also, the character would be played by a very talented and experienced Oscar-winning actress so it would definitely be a sight to see.
Helen Mirren has starred in amazing movies like Hobbs & Shaw, Red and Red 2 and her performance was great. It is only logical to think that she would totally rock the role of a Demi-God with her charm. With the plot laying in the uncertainty it would be most amazing to see how the Shazam! Fury of the Gods turns out.
