Speaking at the Heroes & Villains convention in San Jose, Shazam himself, Zachary Levi, spoke about the upcoming film and teased that it could surprise audiences like Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy.
“James Gunn and the gang killed it. It brought so much heart and humor and I think it was kind of this dark horse that took everyone by storm. I think Shazam kind of has the possibility to do that, because Shazam is not, for all intents and purposes, it’s not Supes (Superman), it’s not Batman, it’s not Wonder Woman. If you look at most Justice League montages or Justice League posts, Shazam is not necessarily one of the characters you put on there, except he is in the Justice League, so if we do well enough…”
Levi also teased some changes to the character for the film that are more in line with modern versions of Shazam than how he first was in the pages of Whiz Comics.
“Shazam gets to be a fun, jovial, because he is, he’s Billy Batson, he’s 13. It’s the movie BIG but with superpowers, which I’m beyond stoked about. By the way, for those Shazam purists out there, and I know there are many of you out there, I understand that the S in his name stands for the Wisdom of Solomon, and that’s a difficult thing to believe when you’re playing the 13-year old in you who’s not as wise as Solomon.”
Levi is joined by Andi Mack star Asher Angel as Billy Batson in the film along with Mark Strong (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Sherlock Holmes) as the villain, Doctor Sivana.
David F. Sandberg is directing for New Line Cinema. He recently confirmed that the target release date for the film is April 2019. The Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director will step behind the camera with Peter Safran producing. Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke wrote the script for Shazam!, which is scheduled to shoot in Vancouver next year.
Dwayne Johnson will not appear as the villain Black Adam in the film and is developing a solo film for the anti-hero as a separate project.
“I think Shazam can be that” @ZacharyLevi on if he thinks Shazam could be like Guardians of the Galaxy #HVFF San Jose pic.twitter.com/3sDgn7vY6G
— Heroes & Villains (@heroesfanfest) December 4, 2017
