Sometimes you look back at the “could have beens” and missed opportunities. Such is life; even when things aren’t quite meant to be, we can still relish in them through our imagination. And what could delight the imagination more than a could have been cameo appearance from a basketball icon or a stand-up comedy legend in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods?”
Sometimes a cameo ties in perfectly and makes sense on every level. Other times, it takes a little bit of digging and pop culture knowledge to figure out why a certain person is showing up. So if we were to tell you Sinbad and/or Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal were supposed to appear in the “Shazam” sequel, we wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t understand why this would be noteworthy.
For those of you who don’t remember the mid 90s, there was a push to make Shaquille O’Neal the biggest celebrity in the world. This guy wasn’t just on the basketball court, he was dropping rap albums, he was in the video game “Shaq Fu,” and he was in the superhero film “Steel.” You might think that’s where the cameo comes in, but no.
Its because he was also in the horrible film “Kazaam.” In this groan-inducing excuse for a kid’s film, he plays a genie. And while Captain Marvel is not a genie, he does have magical powers, and his name is very similar to Kazaam. Thus, the plan was for Shaq to make an appearance in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” but scheduling conflicts preventing it from happening.
But here’s the real kicker, this was actually the back-up plan to the original intended cameo and this is where Sinbad comes into all this. Because people’s memory is very fallible, we have a tendency to remember things slightly differently from how they actually happened. Like Sinbad starring in a film called “Shazaam.”
Apparently, the plan was to have Sinbad appear in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and heckle Captain Marvel.
Regrettably, Sinbad was not able to make his cameo appearance due to suffering a severe stroke in 2020. The actor is still recovering. A report from 2022 indicates he seems to be making better progress than originally thought. We hope for his continued recovery.
Also, considering on how “Shazam! Fury of the Gods“ turned out, it seems like Shaq and Sinbad would’ve been one of the few bright spots in the picture.
