Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now playing in theaters and we'd strongly recommend you stick around through the credits (find a full breakdown of both scenes by clicking here).
The second stinger features the return of Mister Mind and Mark Strong's Dr. Sivana, picking up where the first movie's mid-credits scene left off. The two-inch alien caterpillar with telepathic powers is up to something and promises to return for Sivana once his plan is ready.
That feels like a blatant set-up for Shazam! 3, and director David F. Sandberg broke down the reason for this interaction during a recent interview with ComicBook.com.
"Our original idea was actually to have Mister Mind and Sivana in this movie and to have that it was Mister Mind that enabled the Gods to come here as part of a bigger plan," the filmmaker says, "but it was just too much story to tell that because the movie's already over two hours long without it."
"We had to just have the Gods show up this time, which I'd love to see more of Mister Mind, but maybe some other time."
Asked if he's already working on a third instalment, Sandberg added: "I would love to do something with Mister Mind, but it's since we know people who have seen the first movie will go, 'Hey, what happened with the worm guy?' we had to do a little check-in to show that, no, he's still out there. He's still working on his plans. It just takes a little while."
The franchise's future is unclear amid the big changes currently taking place at Warner Bros. courtesy of DC Studios and Sandberg admitted he's ready to take some time off from Shazam.
"I certainly need a little bit of a break, having done two Shazam movies in a row, and it takes a lot of time and a lot of work," he admits. "Right now I'm just like, 'Let's do a little horror movie,' or something that's really quick and fun."
It would be a real shame if this Mister Mind tease is left unresolved, but based on those box office projections, we're not sure a Shazam! threequel is going to be a huge priority. The character may, however, show up elsewhere as a supporting player.
Have you watched Shazam! Fury of the Gods yet?