Not long ago it was reported that Derek Theler, star of popular Freeform show Baby Daddy, was activley campaigning for the titular role in the 2019 movie, Shazam!, opposite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who is set to play Black Adam in the film). Since then it's also been reported that Alan Ritchson, of popular spike TV series Blue Mountain State, has expressed interest in the role via a reply on Twitter.
While no one has been officially cast and while rumor of Ritchson's [uncomfirmed] casting have spread far and wide, the 6'7" Baby Daddy star has continued to push forward with his campaigning for the role. A mere day after the news that Ritchson had "been cast" in the film, Theler took to his Instagram and posted an image (farthest left below) of himself as the character.
Those unfamilair with Theler's work as an actor should rest assured as the 29 year old successfully acts the part of an extremely Shazam-like (minus the powers) character on his current TV show, Baby Daddy. While he is a sigificiantly less known actor then some of them names being thrown around by fans for the role (i.e. Channing Tatum, Patrick Warburton, Brandon Molale), it's of note that "The Rock" already brings quite a bit of appeal and star-power to the Shazam film, and so there is no real stress in bringing in a star who is universally known.
Furthermore, Theler is quite young (at 29), making him an ideal age for not only future Shazam films, but an ideal represntation of what the teenage Billy Batson might want to become when he utters the word "Shazam". What many fail to realize is that - along with representing the Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, Power of Zeus, Courage of Achilles, and Speed of Mercury - Shazam/Captain Marvel also represents an ideal form for Billy Batson, a young man with a troubled and unpleasant past. While choices like Brandon Molale and Patrick Warburton certainly fit the bill when compared to some versions of the character's representation in comics - namely Kingdomand Kingdom Come - it's worth noting that they're both quite old, and no young man's ideal form is a "big old guy". As stated previously Theler is also in steller shape and stands at 6'7", taller than "The Rock" himself, presenting a plausible physcial match for the ex. WWE star turned actor.
In the past Theler's been quoted - on numerous occasions - that he'd love to play a superhero on screen. When asked who he'd like to play given the chance for Marvel, Theler was quoted stating:
I'm a huge, huge comic book fan. I love the superhero movies so much. If I had to be one of the Avengers, I would go with Thor. I would have to. I just think I look the part too much, and I'm a fan of all of them, but Thor would be something that I think I could put on. I think I could make it happen.
On other occasions the actor was quoted stating things along the following lines:
When I first dropped into L.A., I wanted to be a superhero!
Interestingly the actor was (oh so many years ago) up for the role of Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; a role he [obviously] ended up loosing to Chris Evans. That said, standing at 6'7" and weighing in at around 270 pounds Theler could certainly present the phsycial threat needed to believably combat Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam come 2019...
What do you think? Is Theler someone you'd consider for the role? Or do you have another choice in mind? Comment below and let me know!