The DC Extended Universe's next big outing
Shazam looks to be more light-hearted and kid-friendly than previous entries, also serving as its first foray into magic and mysticism. The film will focus on a young orphan named
Billy Batson, who is granted superhuman abilities by a wizard, which he uses to transform into the heroic Shazam and combat the forces of evil. The teaser trailer dropped earlier this year, featuring a few Easter Eggs alluding to the larger cinematic universe, including references to a
Batman and
Superman inconsistent with the way they previously appeared. Now, thanks to director
David F. Sandberg, we have an explanation to go along with it. The biggest naysayers against
Man of Steel and
Batman v Superman will appreciate his sense of humour.
The covers to some of the film's promotional tie-ins have made their way onto the web, showing off more of the characters and tonal shift. These include
Freddy's Guide to Super Hero-ing: The Official Movie Guide,
Shazam!: The Junior Novel,
Shazam!: Becoming Shazam, and
Shazam!: A Shazam Showdown, the latter of which are aimed specifically at younger readers.
Set for release in April 2019,
Shazam will compete with
Avengers: Endgame, the conclusion to the current era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).
“Shazam!” also stars Jack Dylan Grazer (“IT”) as Billy’s best friend and ultimate superhero enthusiast, Freddy, part of the foster family that includes Mary, played by Grace Fulton (“Annabelle: Creation”); Darla, played by Faithe Herman (TV’s “This is Us”); Eugene, played by Ian Chen (TV’s “Fresh Off the Boat”); and Pedro, played by Jovan Armand (TV’s “Hawaii Five-O”). Cooper Andrews (TV’s “The Walking Dead”) and Marta Milans (TV’s “Killer Women”) play foster parents Victor and Rosa Vasquez, with Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond”) as the Wizard.
Firmly set in the DC universe but with his own distinctly fun, family-centric tone, directed by David F. Sandberg, the screenplay is by Henry Gayden, story by Gayden and Darren Lemke. Shazam was created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck. Christopher Godsick, Jeffrey Chernov, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia serve as executive producers.