Helen Mirren to play villain Hespera in Shazam: Fury of the Gods

Helen Mirren has signed on to play Hespera in the upcoming Shazam sequel, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, according to Deadline. 

Hespera, daughter of Atlas, will serve as the film's primary antagonist and continues Mirren's recent run of tackling roles fun franchise roles. She currently enjoys a recurring role in the Fast and Furious movies, having last appeared in the spin-off Hobbs and Shaw.

Don't feel alone in scratching your head over who Hespera is – she doesn't exist in DC Comics and the mythology on her is slim. The closest that we could find are the Hesperides, which include a nymph named Hespere. This means one of two things: we'll see DC pull heavily from the Greek mythology she's adjacent to, or they are creating a brand new character that can be mold into whatever form they like. No matter which direction they choose, expect the renowned actor to knock it out of the park. Atlas, though, is a character from DC lore as well as Greek mythology.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods will be directed by David F. Sandberg, with a screenplay from Henry Gayden. The Safran company is set to produce the sequel, with Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, and their adult counterparts all set to return. Rachel Zelger is also set to join the cast.

Shazam follows young Billy Batson (Asher Angel) as he navigates suddenly becoming a superhero after being adopted by a new family. Now that Batson's gotten more comfortable in his own skin – both superhero and otherwise – the sequel is expected to test the hero in all new and exciting ways.

In other recent superhero news, Promising Young Women director Emerald Fennell will write an upcoming DCEU movie and Dwayne Johnson has confirmed that work continues on Black Adam.