movie. Having two Batmans in the DCEU at the same time could be a challenge for movie-goers to accept — the sequel Shazam 2 could be integral to establishing this new normal.
Of course, the two franchises don't quite mean the same thing when they use the word "Multiverse." Alternate Earths are only a small part of Marvel's Multiverse, which also embraces esoteric planes of existence like the Dark Dimension and the Quantum Realm. In contrast, at first glance, DC's Multiverse simple refers to an infinite number of parallel realities — Infinite Earths. Excitingly, for DC this most likely means the various movies and TV shows are all officially now part of the same Multiverse, a closer bond than any Marvel Studios have dared to tease. Assuming this is the case, DC's creative decisions have a surprising impact on Shazam 2. Surprisingly, they turn that movie into one of the most important films of all.
The first Shazam! movie introduced viewers to a mysterious realm known as the Rock of Eternity, originally the home of the wizard Shazam and claimed as the "lair" of Billy Batson and his superhero siblings. In the comics, the Rock of Eternity is no mere magical castle; rather, it is the source of magic itself, situated at the very center of the Multiverse. Shazam hinted this is the case in the movies as well, with the Batsons attempting to flee from the Rock of Eternity and discovering a room full of doors to other dimensions. The ones they saw were pretty exotic; one opened on a room of crocodile people. Presumably, as in the comics, there is a door to every Earth in the Multiverse. That means Billy Batson and the Marvel family are the heroes who can most easily explore the Multiverse, and that technically they can access every other DC universe.
The Arrowverse has already alluded to the existence of the Rock of Eternity. In Eternium. In the comics, Eternium is a mysterious, magically-charged substance originating from the Rock of Eternity. It was ultimately scattered throughout time and space when the Rock of Eternity was destroyed by the Spectre, who had been driven insane after being manipulated by a powerful sorceress. If the Arrowverse and the DCEU do now exist in the same Multiverse, then the Rock of Eternity now subtly ties them together. DC could easily use Shazam 2 to help establish the nature of their Multiverse, with Billy and his brothers and sisters jumping to Earths viewers would recognize from other DC film and TV franchises.
The reference to Eternium implies the Rock of Eternity will ultimately be destroyed. There's no reason to assume that's going to happen anytime soon, though; its destruction sent fragments of Eternium across all of time and space. As such, there's no reason to assume the Rock of Eternity will even be destroyed in Billy Batson's lifetime. Still, that would certainly be a dramatic direction for Shazam 2.
