Following a long period of uncertainty, Warner Bros. & New Line's Shazam! has finally started to pick up some steam over the last couple of weeks and with the titular hero now cast, we can all begin to look ahead at the production's rumored early 2018 start date.
Star Zachary Levi (Chuck), who will bring the mighty hero to life, recently stopped by KTLA 5 to share a few intriguing tidbits about the upcoming David Sandberg-directed film, teasing the film's fun coming-of-age tone and comparing it favorably to a Tom Hanks classic. "The hope is that it’s gonna feel like the movie ‘Big’, but with superpowers... So, you’re gonna have the heart of that kind of Tom Hanks of the kid in you."
While he stayed away from sharing anything too revealing about the film's plot, he did express his excitement and immense gratitude at landing the role of a lifetime, “I’m honored and greatly humbled to be a part of it. It’s insane. These superhero roles, they come around very seldom and to be somebody who’s blessed enough to get to pull that brass ring and to go have a franchise, a tentpole, it’s insane.” When pressed on whether he found signing a multi-film contract for a big franchise like this too daunting, he charismatically replied, “It’s just one of those things where you can’t look at that as being a bad thing. If you’re looking at that as a bad thing, then you need to go do a lot more therapy.”
A boy is given the ability to become an adult superhero in times of need with a single magic word.
Shazam! will feature:
Director: David F. Sandberg
Zachary Levi as Shazam
Asher Angel as Billy Batson
Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana
Grace Fulton in an undisclosed role
Shazam! zaps into theaters April 5, 2019