The art of the post-credits scene is a modern, comic book movie challenge — how far do you lean into the possibilities of the world, and a potential sequel? How much to depart from everything we just saw before the tease without overshadowing the actual movie?
Shazam! has one of the better after-credits payoffs in years because there’s a twist: The surprise character revealed in the end was actually introduced in one of the first scenes of the movie. Eagle-eyed fans with a knowledge of Captain Marvel/Shazam comic books knew exactly what was coming.
[Ed. note: This post contains major spoilers for the end of Shazam!]
After Shazam!’s crayon-colored credit sequence, the film picks back up with Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), now stripped of his Seven Sins superpowers and killing time in jail. A voice from off-screen interrupts his symbol scribbling, offering him the chance to tap the ultimate power. The diabolical presence is none other than longtime Shazam villain Mister Mind — a not-so-menacing caterpillar with a voice box.
Director David F. Sandberg, giddy to introduce the zanier, magical elements of Shazam lore, was audacious enough to throw Mister Mind into an early scene in the film. When young Sivana enters the wizard Shazam’s Rock of Eternity for the first time, we see a small terrarium housing Mister Mind in the corner. Later in the movie, when things go south for the ol’ magic man, we see the terrarium smashed and empty. A bug was on the loose — and ready for after-credit teasing.
“He’s just so fun,” Sandberg tells Polygon. “I mean, you have this evil genius mastermind, but he’s in the body of a little outer space worm? It’s just hilarious! That was something I absolutely wanted to have in the movie. And I I do the voice for him as well. I get to be Mister Mind.”
Just as Billy and Freddy live the teenage dream of becoming of superpowered heroes, so too did Sandberg, literally becoming the nemesis of his potential sequel (at least for one scene).
Along with Doctor Thaddeus Sivana (the antagonist of Shazam!), and the sinister Black Adam, Mister Mind is one of a trio of Shazam’s most powerful foes. In personality and ability, he meets the format of the classic evil super-genius — his brain, his schemes, and his telepathy against Shazam’s brawn.
But he’s also a tiny caterpillar/worm from outer space, and uses a tiny speaker to amplify his tiny worm voice and is often depicted in thick glasses, presumably so he can see things outside the range of his tiny worm vision.
Don’t let his unassuming form lull you into security. He’s one of the greatest evil minds in the DC Universe, famous for forming and commanding the Monster Society of Evil.
Sandberg couldn’t let the Monster Society go without referencing them Shazam! either. We see a nod to the legion of evildoers in a scene in which a magical door opens to a bunch of crocodile-headed men, who are playing cards. Fun fact: Sandberg played them, too.
“We were talking about how to do that, and I said, ‘We could just make one crocodile suit and save money because they’re kind of expensive and then just shoot it in passes. And then they were like, ‘Well, who’s gonna play?’ Then [producer] Peter Safran was like, ‘David should play the crocodile man!’ So I’ve got to be a creature performer, which gave me a lot of respect for creature performance because that’s really hard. You can’t be claustrophobic. It’s really hot — it’s not great.”
Sandberg and screenwriter Henry Gayden both imagine a Shazam sequel that unlocks the magical potential of the comics. “There’s certainly a lot of places you can take it, especially now with the family,” Gayden says, referring to the final fight sequence in which all of Billy’s foster brothers and sisters summon the power of Shazam to become their own superpowered crimefighters. He mentions Tawky Tawny, Shazam’s anthropomorphic tiger friend who, while referenced throughout the film in plush doll and supersuit decal form, was a little too out there for this first adventure. But in a sequel ... ?
“There are seven realms, there’s Mister Mind, and all the villains are really steeped in magics. So I think to ignore that would be a mistake. However, right out of the gates, I think introducing and talking tiger might’ve been a misstep. Now that we have some latitude, and maybe people on board with the world of magic, maybe you could have one. A flying rabbit — who knows.”
“A flying rabbit” being Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, Shazam’s rabbit pal that also once upon a time spit out the word “Shazam!” and summoned magical powers. If Shazam!’s Mister Mind post-credits tease is any sign of the future, DC’s comedy-laced superhero franchise is about to get very, very weird.