SHAZAM! Director David Sandberg Teases The Origins Of Mark Strong's Villainous Doctor Sivana
The trailer for Shazam! that premiered at SDCC only gave us a brief glimpse of the villainous Doctor Sivana (Mark Strong), but director David Sandberg has now shed some light on the character's origins...
The San Diego Comic-Con trailer for Shazam! chose to focus on Billy Batson and his transformation into the titular superhero, only giving us a very brief shot of Mark Strong as the villain of the piece - and with good reason.
While chatting to EW, director David Sandberg revealed that he wants to keep a lid on Dr. Thaddeus Sivana's backstory and power-set for as long as possible, but he did provide a few details about the character's origins.
It turns out Sivana also encountered the Wizard as a child, but was deemed unworthy to inherit his abilities. Since then, he's been searching for a way to replicate the incredible super-powers that Billy now possesses in an attempt to live up to the expectations of a domineering father.
We know from the trailer that he does succeed, but they're not going to be the same powers as the ones young Batson acquired!
“Mark Strong loves being a bad guy,” Sandberg enthused, while also giving fans a cryptic tease of how Sivana came by his abilities. : “And it’s not just him, really, it’s … something else … that lent him his powers … he can do some things that Shazam can’t. The danger in some films is the bad guy has the same powers as the good guy. [Sivana] has an extra thing, extra dynamic, that takes care of that….”
What do you guys think? Could Black Adam be involved, perhaps? Be sure to share your theories with us in the comments.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.