Helen Mirren to take on villain role in Shazam sequel

Dame Helen Mirren has upgraded from playing a queen to a god in the upcoming sequel to 2019's Shazam.

According to Deadline, Helen has sealed the deal with New Line and DC Comics to play the villainous Hespera, a daughter of Atlas. While further details about the upcoming movie have been kept under wraps, Helen won't be the only new character to join the cast. Rachel Zegler (who's also starring in the West Side Story remake) will also join the cast as the rumored sister of Hespera. 

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The story will continue the adventures of teenager Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel) who after reciting the words "Shazam!" turns into his adult superhero alter-ego played by Zachary Levi.  

Helen and Rachel will not be the only godly characters in this much-anticipated sequel. Zachary's character is known to be gifted with the powers of six gods including the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.  

Some of the cast and crew took to Twitter to announce their excitement over Helen joining the cast with the official Shazam account writing, "You said the word. Helen Mirren will star in Shazam: Fury Of The Gods." 

A fan even asked Zachary on Twitter how it feels to be working with Helen to which he replied, "Not gonna lie, it feels Dame good."

Helen isn't just known for her stellar Oscar-winning performance in The Queen, she's also no stranger to action-packed movies including Red and Anna. This year will be busy for the star as the actress is set to also be reprising her role as Queenie in the latest Fast and Furious installment, F9, and will also be starring in a new Amazon Prime anthology series with Morgan Freeman called Solos.