Zachary Levi’s Shazam wins even more bragging rights over Dwayne Johnson’s exiled nemesis Black Adam

At one stage in time, Zachary Levi was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam in the DCU, even if reports emerged that the feelings weren’t entirely reciprocated.

Not only was it claimed that The Rock held a thinly-veiled disdain for David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!, but further scuttlebutt offered that he was offered the chance to make a cameo appearance in sequel Fury of the Gods before deciding to turn it down. As we know, that call has come back to royally bite him in the ass, with James Gunn deciding the Man in Black didn’t have a seat at the franchise’s freshly-set table.

Levin is a longtime friend of Gunn’s, and he’s so close with fellow co-CEO Peter Safran that they vacation together, but it looks as though the candy-colored superhero saga has scored another major victory over one-and-done failure. While a release date hasn’t been officially confirmed as of yet, Chinese outlet Global Times is reporting that Fury of the Gods will score a theatrical rollout in the country, as the sentiment towards comic book adaptations continues to shift.

Johnson is massively popular in China, and Black Adam looked as though it was set for a big screen bow before those plans changed, and maybe the additional box office revenue could have helped the leading man and producer state his case. As if Levi needed any more ammunition to prove himself the victor in the war that was never waged, Fury of the Gods could be set to succeed where the title hero’s arch-nemesis couldn’t even get a look-in.