SHAZAM!: Everything We Learned From The Set Visits Along With Some Electrifying New Images

Shazam! Is Only Loosely Based On "The New 52"

"As soon as I got the job, Geoff Johns sent me a whole bunch of stuff, and some other friends recommended stuff. I wanted to read those to kind of familiarize myself, but, also, see if there were little nuggets or little things. But the truth is The New 52 is really…not canon for this… because this is even different than what The New 52 is. I did quite like Kingdom Come. Even though that’s a completely different situation, it shows Captain Marvel in a really incredible… the innocence. He’s an adult and he still has that heart. I thought, “That’s such a cool thing to be able to take that in and is ultimately a sacrificial move at the end and all of that.” I just found that was more inspiration for me than even The New 52 in a lot of ways because we get away with a lot in comics."

David F. Sandberg On Following Justice League

Does Shazam! Set The Stage For Black Adam?

The Movie Is Set Firmly Within The DCEU

Mark Strong Won't Be Pulling Double Duty In The DCEU

Most fans agree that Mark Strong's Sinestro was pretty much the only good thing about 2011's Green Lantern movie but is there any chance at all that he would be open to reprising the role in the planned reboot? As you might expect, that's not something which is currently in the works. 

"[My] version of Sinestro I think is going to be rebooted, as they say, no doubt when the new Green Lantern comes out, which I think they’re doing," Strong explains. "But as I said and I mean it, I felt really… it was a little interrupted because Sinestro was gonna go into the second movie and become the yellow Sinestro that we know and love and cause havoc."

"It got cut short by the fact that they never made a second movie of that particular incarnation of Green Lantern and Sinestro. But, thankfully, I’ve now got a chance to maybe exercise my evil credentials with Doctor Sivana."
 

Changing The Seven Deadly Sins

Don't Expect Any Green Lantern Easter Eggs

Given the magical nature of this story, I'm sure we'll get a lot of interesting Easter Eggs in Shazam! but what about Green Lantern? While this question was seemingly posed in relation to Strong's history with Sinestro, Sandberg made it clear that we won't get any references to that here. 

That makes sense (Warner Bros. no doubt wants to just forget that misstep and move on) but the director had nothing but good things to say about the actor."[He] really enjoys playing a villain as well. He really has fun with being a bad guy, which is great, because it’s just so fun to watch with someone who enjoys being evil. Yeah, we’re very lucky to get him, because he’s such a great actor."
 

Zachary Levi Believes Henry Cavill Is Still Superman

The Movie's Tone

Taking Inspiration From The Character's Entire History

"Yeah, I wanted to incorporate a little bit of everything, not just in 52, but the older stuff as well, which is … The suit is one part of that where it’s like, “Yeah, I want the shorter cape of like the Golden Age comics.” But then we … And like, “Let’s try the hood from the new 52.” And little things like that, and trying to balance it. So we have things and references from the old comics, but a lot of the story takes inspiration from the new 52. So it’s a combination of like, “Oh, I like this, and we like that, and let’s put it together."

It's A Standalone Adventure

Why Mark Strong Decided To Play Dr. Sivana

Bringing Strong back to the DCEU can't have been an easy feat for Warner Bros. given his experience working on Green Lantern so what was it that convinced the actor to suit up as Dr. Sivana? 

"I think because he is a proper, in the New 52 incarnation that Geoff’s [Johns] done, he is a proper supervillain," Strong explains. "He gets to fly, he can create electric fields in his hands and fire electricity. I love the whole notion that in his eye he has seven sins that manifest themselves at various points whenever they or he wants them to. So, it’s a good, proper supervillain."
 

Black Adam Was Never Going To Appear

At one point, the plans was for Shazam to go head to head with Black Adam but Dwayne Johnson seemingly convinced the studio to give his character his own movie and have them meet somewhere down the line. As far as Sandberg is concerned, there was never a plan for the anti-hero to show up when he came on board to direct. 

"Yeah, when I came on board, it was like, “Yeah, we’re doing a standalone Shazam movie.” Yeah, and I know they’ve been sort of … The project has I think has existed in various forms before, but I haven’t really … I’m not really familiar with all of that." Is he protesting a little too much? Expect to find out for sure this April. 
 

What To Expect From The Movie's Actual Villain

So, there may not be plans for Black Adam to appear but what exactly is the deal with Dr. Sivana? 

According to Strong, he'll have a variety of powers and will be a true force to be reckoned with.

"I think because he is a proper, in the New 52 incarnation that Geoff’s [Johns] done, he is a proper supervillain," the actor says. "He gets to fly, he can create electric fields in his hands and fire electricity. I love the whole notion that in his eye he has seven sins that manifest themselves at various points whenever they or he wants them to. So, it’s a good, proper supervillain."
 

Why The Movie Is Set During Christmas

We're getting what may be our first real Christmas comic book movie courtesy of Shazam! but what led to the decision to set the movie during that period when it's going to hit theaters in April? Sandberg offers a pretty convincing and interesting explanation.
 

"It’s a lot about family and Christmastime and this family holiday. And it’s about like finding your family with these foster kids and everything. So yeah, it was just very appropriate for the story. It just meant that we had to shoot it here in winter, which has been pretty brutal. Shoot it all on location during nights, because they were like … They were telling me like, “If you shoot the carnival during the day, you get more kid hours, everything will be easier.” And I was like, “Well, it’s not gonna look good with all the lights and everything.” So yeah, so we’ve been shooting it during the nights and it’s been pretty miserable."

Why Doesn't The Movie Take Place In Fawcett City?

Fans of Shazam will know that many of his adventures take place in the fictional Fawcett City so why exactly does this movie take place in Philadelphia? Well, that's something Sandberg did choose to take from Johns' run during "The New 52" era of storytelling.

"Well, we went with Geoff Johns’ idea. I think he picked Philly because of Benjamin Franklin and all of that stuff. And the thing about Shazam, or Captain Marvel, is it’s been different … It was Fawcett City at some point, but I think originally, it was New York, and like it’s been … So it’s not like, “Oh, it has to be Metropolis or something.” It can be anything really."
 

The Shazam/Dr. Sivana Dynamic

In the recent TV spot released for the movie, eagle-eyed fans noticed that someone who may very well be a young Dr. Sivana was seemingly visiting the Rock of Eternity. That points to a change to his origin story and may mean he was once deemed unworthy by The Wizard. Strong seemingly confirms that with his comments about how things play about between the villain and Billy Batson.

"He can’t understand," the actor explains. "Because there was the opportunity there that he could be the champion of good but was rejected because he was considered not to be worthy. It’s a source of total incomprehension why this boy should have been chosen over him. But, it just justifies him in his quest to unify the good force and the evil force and be in control of all of it."