I am confessedly a huge fan of Captain Marvel (now called Shazam everywhere but my heart) but even if I weren't I would still be confused by what DC is up to with the cinematic version of the character. After hearing the Rock's perfect casting as Black Adam I eagerly awaited any other news, and that is when I began to worry.
At first I was tickled pink that the Big Red Cheese was going to be a part of the upcoming Justice League franchise. I loved the idea because it is the perfect person for a film like this to follow. Billy Batson is much more of an everyman even than Batman despite Bruce's lack of superpowers. The innocence and naivety of childhood is the perfect lens to be able to capture how truly awe inspiring the League is. Not only that, but as the World's Mightiest Mortal, he was the only person who should have been able to rival Superman's powers. Sure you could say Wonder Woman is close and I agree, but I am speaking about Mortals, and Dianna is a demi god, if not an actual god herself. Supes is an alien, Dianna an Amazon, and Aquaman an Atlantean, depending on who you think that will round out the seven who are yet to be united, that only leaves three maybe four actual humans on the team. Out of them only the Flash and Cyborg will be at all relatable (unless you suffered a trauma in your childhood that left you with an unquenchable thirst for vengeance).
Relatability anyone?
Some may say it is not an issue, but look at the transformers films. (not that they are any good) and you will see they always include a human character. Somebody who is just as surprised at what is happening as you are, and that gives you an in. As it stands I don't know who this character will be in the Justice League. It seems though, that they may be leaning toward Batman to take this roll on. That also may be a reason for his inclusion in BVS, Supes is pretty unrelatable as an invincible sun god, but Bats you can at least see where he is coming from. Although Batman may work better than Superman in this role, it would be better suited for someone like the Flash or Shazam, as they are even more relatable and can be used to vicariously represent you in the story. Look at how mad people are about Clark letting his father die just to hide his powers. This is because the audience can't relate to that, and if they were in Superman's shoes they would not have allowed their father to die. Apply this same thing to MOS across the board, the destruction, him snapping Zod's neck, people can't relate to it, which is why they say things like "why didn't Superman just- fill in the blank-" But with Shazam in the film, with the innocence of a human child, he would usually act more similarly to how you would. This personalizes a movie in my opinion, the more I can relate to a character the more I feel for a character, giving the emotional arc more weight.
So imo they should definitely use Shazam in the movie, if only to show that there is a relatable human that exists that can rival the powers of this alien. Yet then I hear that the movie is being handled by New Line. Dwayne Johnson tweets #independence and my heart shrinks. This combined with the New Line president saying that Shazam will have “a tone unto itself” seemed to confirm my fears.
DC comics then seemed to contradict this by saying that Shazam will exist in the DCCU, but if that is the case, then why move the title to New Line, push it back, and reveal no new information about the movie? Also, saying he will exist in the DCCU is not the same as saying he will ever show up in a Justice League film or anything like that. It could just mean a cameo, or even worse just a quick casual mention like the Superman line from the terrible Batman and Robin. This worries me, only because I would have to guess they separated Shazam from the rest of the DCCU by sending it to New Line because they were afraid of conflicting tones. Meaning Shazam being a kid and all innocent does not fit with their vision for an overall serious Justice League movie. I think this is a mistake. The League and the Avengers both are better when their diversity (in terms of powers, personalities, and morals) is one of the main focus'. It is one reason why the group is so successful. If they neuter the DCCU's characters by having all the films have the same tone (not saying they will but if they did) it would take a lot of the fun out of it.
Another fear is that if the DCCU does not do well critically (we all know it will be a hit financially) will they even bother with making the movie at all? Or is New Line cinemas the insulator for DC if their plans don't go well? They could certainly put alot of second tier characters into movies at New Line while maintaining the seperation of brands.
Just to be clear, this article is about me worriying about Shazam the character being in the DCCU not worries about the quality of his solo film. We just don't know enough about the 2019 film yet to be anything but cautiously optimistic.
So what do you think, should Shazam be in the Justice league? If for nothing else then allowing Black Adam to be a villain for the Justice League because we all know he is one of the best villains DC has to offer and possibly the only Earthling villain capable of whooping Superman's a$$? Are you worried about Shazam?