This Dame won’t deign to explain her latest role.
Helen Mirren has several film franchises under her belt — but don’t expect the screen legend to break down the plot of her next starring role in DC superhero flick “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.”
“Don’t ask me about the plot, it’s too complicated,” the 77-year-old actress said on Friday’s episode of “The Graham Norton Show.”
The Oscar winner is playing the villain, Hespera, in the “Shazam” sequel, alongside Lucy Liu, 54, as Kalypso, both daughters of Atlas and foil to the story’s hero, Shazam.
“[Lucy Liu and I] are angry goddesses wearing unbelievably heavy costumes,” Mirren explained about filming. “It was very hot and uncomfortable and in fact, Lucy said at the end of the first day’s shooting, ‘They are trying to kill us,’ in all seriousness.”
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” premieres on March 17.Warner Bros PicturesThe “Fast X” star noted that she adored the 2019 parent film, starring Zachary Levi, 42, as Shazam, and wanted to exercise her action chops
“I wanted to do it because I loved the first ‘Shazam!’ It was sweet and funny,” Mirren said. “I am not a big superhero-type person, but I loved the idea of it and happily signed up for the second one. It is great.”
She also revealed that she did some of her own stunt work, and broke one of her fingers as a result.
Lucy Liu as Kalypso and Helen Mirren as Hespera in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.”Warner Bros Pictures
Helen Mirren — pictured left with co-star Lucy Liu, right, in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” — said she broke a finger during filming by being a “real ‘stunty’ person.”Warner Bros Pictures“I was incredibly brave and didn’t say anything or complain because I wanted to be a real ‘stunty’ person,” Mirren added.
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” follows Levi and Asher Angel, 20, sharing the role of the superhero Billy Batson / Shazam as he battles the villainous Daughters of Atlas. The action-packed sequel also includes Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, and Djimon Hounsou among its ensemble cast.
Director David F. Sandberg broke down the film’s synopsis last month, telling Entertainment Weekly that it is an “extension of the first movie.”
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” director David F. Sandberg told Entertainment Weekly that Helen Mirren demanded “more p- - -y power on set.”dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe filmmaker noted that Billy is “struggling a bit” with his foster family as well as trying to find his place in the world.
“He’s holding on very tightly to his family because he doesn’t want everyone to just scatter and go do their own thing,” Sandberg said “He just found his family, and he wants to have them all together.”
Of Mirren’s casting, Sandberg joked: “You kind of have an expectation, like, ‘Oh, it’s Dame Helen entering the set!’ But the first day she came on, she’s like, ‘Yeah! We need more p- - -y power on set! We’re here now!’ and I was like, ‘Oh, okay!'”
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” soars into theaters on March 17.
