According to Liu, the rig she was using was originally created for cars, and this was one of the first times they were using it. She explained:
“So it was like being a guinea pig on it. And it was this sort of — pistons connected, and they had built a little saddle for me to sit on, and they hooked me into the wire. And then, of course, the visual effects and all the post-production created this magical creature. And this dragon is made out of wood.”
Levi jumped in to explain to the hosts that the dragon in the film is supposed to be comprised of wood but that the rig itself wasn’t. Liu was actually given a small model of the dragon, so she had some idea of what it looked like, “because otherwise, you’re just sort of sitting on something that doesn’t look anything like what it is. I mean, that’s the magic of what everybody does behind the scenes.”
Liu’s character spends most of the third act on Ladon. It’s important to know what your trusty steed looks like. During the press day for the film, I spoke to Liu about the dragon. She told me, ” … they plopped me on there, and they made it very easy. We tested it out, there’s different speeds that you could go at … I’m glad I was the guinea pig.”
Sounds scary to be trying out new machinery that you’re actually on, but Liu seemed pretty happy about it. She even told me, “I’m going to sign it. I’ll put my fingerprints on it like it’s a star on the [Hollywood] Walk of Fame or something.”
“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” opens on March 17, 2023.
