Dwayne Johnson Says Shazam Could Arrive Earlier Than 2019

Those who are upset that we have to wait until 2019 to see Shazam take to the big screen are in luck, because according to Dwayne Johnson – who plays lead antagonist Black Adam – the movie could arrive sooner than expected.

MTV caught up with the wrestler-turned-movie star at the 87th Academy Awards this past weekend, and asked about the state of Shazam. When the interviewer lamented that the film was “a few years away,” Johnson cut him off and said:

“You know, it may happen a little earlier than what has been predicted. The script is coming in, it’s great, the support from the studio has been great.”

We have yet to hear much about what the adaptation itself will entail (and Johnson mentions that he still doesn’t know who will play Shazam), but we have been hearing quite a bit of talk about Black Adam being used as an antihero in the DC Cinematic Universe, a point that Johnson brings up once more here:

“It’s a great opportunity, especially with Black Adam where you can take a guy who starts off as a bad guy, turns into an anti-hero, we can make him vicious, [with] a little bit of winking charm.”

One has to wonder how WB could bring Shazam to the big screen earlier than 2019, as the current 10-film slate already includes two releases a year. 2016 marks the arrival of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, 2017 includes Wonder Woman and Justice League, and 2018 marks the arrivals of The Flash and Aquaman. 

Of those films, The Flash is the only one that could presumably get pushed back if need be. Batman V Superman has already wrapped, while Suicide Squad is gearing up for production this spring. Cameras will start rolling on Wonder Woman in the fall, and Aquaman already has a leading man, costume, and two scripts in development. The Flash may have a star in the form of Ezra Miller, but we’ve heard little to no information about the solo film itself. Unless WB plans to squeeze three DC films into one year in order to bring Shazam to life a little bit early, the scarlet speedster is the one most likely to swap release dates.

If anything, Johnson’s comments prove that this is a fluid, fickle business, and that release dates are never set in stone. Hopefully we’ll hear more about WB’s concrete plans for the ambitious slate soon, especially with big events like Comic-Con on the horizon.

As it stands now, Shazam does not yet have a director attached, but is projected for release on April 5th, 2019.