While Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and, more recently, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad have been chewing up headlines of late ahead of their 2016 debuts, ardent DC fans have one eye trained on Warner Bros.’ larger cinematic universe, with the likes of Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam lining the company’s comprehensive slate.
It wasn’t too long ago that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – who is attached to play lead antagonist Black Adam – hinted that the superhero flick could make its debut before its planned release in 2019, and during the press tour for the actor’s soon-to-be-released disaster pic San Andreas, Johnson himself reiterated that he believes Shazam isn’t as far away as Warner would have you believe.
“No, I don’t think it is going to be that far away. It’s going to be earlier than that. I don’t think 2019.”
Besides the announcement itself, Warner Bros. has remained mum about the development of the DC adaptation. The lead role of Billy Batson hasn’t even been cast yet. As such, it’s difficult to imagine that the studio would reshuffle its deck to accommodate a bump for Shazam that would cause unnecessary pressure for Warner’s other projects. Releasing three superhero movies per year is somewhat of a stretch, after all.
We’ll keep you posted on the status of Shazam and Dwayne Johnson’s role in it as we learn more, but for now, tell us, do you expect Warner Bros. to release the feature before its expected debut in 2019? Let us know below.