Segal on Shazam vs. Superman

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The helmer of Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam compares and contrasts the two iconic super characters...

You're working on an adaptation of Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam. Why depart from comedy

I think superheroes are heroes with flaws, and in their flaws, there is a sense of humor. A few people have asked me if I'm trying turn the film into a light comedy, and I'm saying absolutely not. However, real fans of Shazam know there's a great sense of humor just in the fact that a 13-year-old boy morphs into a 28-year-old superstud, Captain Marvel. There's almost a genre for movies like that - Big, 13 Going on 30 -- but they're all following in the footsteps of Shazam.

There are a lot of similarities between this property and Superman. In fact, DC successfully sued for infringement in the '40s. Do you worry people will continue to connect the two?

I'll name two incredibly successful comics right now that are about a millionaire who wants to fight crime and uses technology to build suits and gadgets to help him do so. But quite frankly, I was concerned: Superman literally squashed Captain Marvel in the '40s. There are a lot of Captain Marvel fans who are saying he got a raw deal. And since there seems to be some legal trouble in ever bringing another Superman to the screen, now feels like the right time.

Jim Littler
6/25/2008
Source: AMC

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