It’s been a busy, busy week for fans of the DC Extended Universe, with the internet being sent into a frenzy thanks to the latest slew of 4chan leaks. As is always the case, it’s best to take them all with a handful of salt, but if nothing else, these rumors have fuelled plenty of speculation and discussion, which is always fun to see and partake in.
Whether it’s the introduction of Supergirl in Man of Steel 2 or the teasing of Red Hood in The Batman, there’s been a lot to dig into lately, and though some of it reads like nothing more than fan fiction – and probably is just that – we’ll leave it up to you to decide which of these leaks are accurate and which are not.
The latest one concerns Shazam, a film that’s currently in a state of flux. Though the plan was originally to give the titular character his own solo outing, we heard not too long ago that things were changing, as Warner Bros. was far more interested in Black Adam, choosing to instead go ahead with a standalone movie for the antihero – one which will still feature Shazam. To fuel the fire a little more, Dwayne Johnson even revealed a while back that he’d love to see Armie Hammer take the role, which caused a great deal of speculation.
It’s still unclear what exactly’s going on with the two characters and what the studio has planned, but according to this new leak, the Shazam film is still in development, with both Johnson and Henry Cavill set to appear in it. Unfortunately, there’s no word on who may play the hero and with Hammer continuously claiming to not know anything about it, we’re left to guess who Warner Bros. may have their eye on. Of course, The Lone Ranger star could be lying, but without anything official being announced yet, it’s hard to say which actor or actors may be in contention for the part.
Again, it’s best to take this all with a handful of salt, but it’s important to note that we’ve heard similar rumors in the past, with a leak last month stating that Shazam will be inspired by Geoff Johns’ New 52 Shazam run and, like we mentioned above, will feature both Superman and Black Adam. It’d make sense, too, for the studio to throw Cavill and Johnson into the film.
After all, Shazam is far from a household name and doesn’t have the recognition that heroes like Batman and Superman have. So, including a huge star like The Rock and an iconic character like the Man of Steel will help ensure that audiences head out to see the flick. That being said, by the time it releases, we imagine that the DCEU will be a big enough franchise that people will want to see the movie regardless, but you never know.
Shazam has been tentatively set for release in 2019, with Black Adam expected to follow shortly thereafter. Next to tumble off Warner’s production line is Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which will be with us on November 17th and is currently undergoing some reshoots, which are said to be adding in more flashbacks for Wonder Woman and a few additional Gotham City scenes.
