Zachary Levi has not had the easiest time of things in Hollywood over the past while, and has admitted that he pretty much committed "career suicide" by sharing his anti-vax views and endorsing Donald Trump for POTUS.
Levi played the titular superhero in Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and while the first movie was very successful, a lot of people seemed to grow a little tired of the character's antics in the sequel. The movie was a box office bomb, and when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-heads of the new DC Studios, the chances of Levi ever returning to the role seemed to go from slim to none.
"The audience score is still quite good, but the critics’ score was, I don’t know, very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind," Levi has previously said of the reception to Fury of the Gods. "Listen, I’ve been a part of things and as much as I wish that they were good, I know that they’re okay, I know they missed a lot. I’m not saying Shazam! Fury of the Gods is some perfect Orson Welles masterpiece, but it’s a good darn movie. I don’t know what the future holds, because Fury of the Gods was not well received. I have no idea where we go from here."
Though Levi isn't exactly holding out hope for the opportunity to return as Shazam, he would definitely be open to it.
"Oh yeah! I loved playing Shazam... If James and the powers that be said 'Hey, we would love to bring you back as Shazam,' or if there was some other DC character... I love comic books," he told Feature First in a new interview.
During a 2023 interview with ComicBook.com, Levi was asked about the possibility of appearing as an entirely different character in the DCU, since Jason Momoa left Aquaman behind to play Lobo, and Sean Gunn had been cast as Maxwell Lord after already playing Weasel in The Suicide Squad (he also voiced the furry menace and G.I. Robot in Creature Commandos).
At this point, Levi decided to throw a little shade at Gunn's casting: “When you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play who you want.”
Levi claims to still be on good terms with Gunn, but something tells us his cape-wearing days may have come to an end. The actor now seems to be focused on appearing in faith-based projects that appeal to his fan-base.
Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with having adult Super Hero alter-egos. But when the Daughters of Atlas, a vengeful trio of ancient gods, arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Billy—aka Shazam—and his family are thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of their world.
From New Line Cinema comes Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!,” is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods stars returning cast members Zachary Levi (Thor: Ragnarok) as Shazam; Asher Angel (Andi Mack) as Billy Batson; Jack Dylan Grazer (It Chapter Two) as Freddy Freeman; Adam Brody (Promising Young Woman) as Super Hero Freddy; Ross Butler (Raya and the Last Dragon) as Super Hero Eugene; Meagan Good (Day Shift) as Super Hero Darla; D.J. Cotrona (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) as Super Hero Pedro; Grace Caroline Currey (Annabelle: Creation) as Mary Bromfield / Super Hero Mary; Faithe Herman (This Is Us) as Darla Dudley; Ian Chen (A Dog’s Journey) as Eugene Choi; Jovan Armand (Second Chances) as Pedro Pena; Marta Milans (White Lines) as Rosa Vasquez; Cooper Andrews (The Walking Dead) as Victor Vasquez; with Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place Part II) as Wizard.
Joining the cast are Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), with Lucy Liu (Kung Fu Panda franchise) and Helen Mirren (F9: The Fast Saga).