Why Mary Marvel Was Recast For Shazam: Fury Of The Gods

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Although most of the kids in the Shazam Family have the same adult counterparts they had in the first movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods recasts Mary Marvel, the oldest member of the team of Champions. Played by Grace Caroline Currey, the Shazam! sequel features the actress pulling double duty in this new chapter, playing both her non-powered and powered selves. While this wasn't the case in the first movie, it's actually a welcome change overall.
Despite her prior intentions to go to college at Caltech, Shazam! Fury of the Gods confirms that Mary chose to stay home and put off her academic plan in light of her new powers and those of her foster siblings. Although Billy Batson (Asher Angel) might be the de facto leader as the original Shazam (Zachary Levi), Mary is very much looked to as the brains of the operation. After all, it's teased she holds more of the Wisdom of Solomon than any of the others while also being the oldest sister. While this helps explain the recasting, there's also some canonical reasoning from the comics as well.