It seems ‘Shazam’ is the magic word for Zachary Levi and writer-director David F. Sandberg.
Over on Twitter, Levi and Entertainment Weekly engaged in a playful back-and-forth, culminating in the reveal of EW’s jam-packed San Diego Comic-Con issue. And yes, Shazam! has been elected as the newfound cover star.
It’s every bit as cheeky as we’ve come to expect from the movie pitched as ‘Superman meets Big,’ as below you’ll see a fully-costumed Zachary Levi casually leaning to one side without a care in the world. For the DCEU, this is a stark contrast from the dark and moody character reveals that prefaced Batman V Superman and Justice League, but it’s clear viewers are beginning to welcome this change of pace.
And Levi? He’s just excited to toy around with Shazam’s god-like abilities:
It’s complete wish-fulfillment — if you scour all of DC and Marvel there are very few characters that are actually stoked to be a superhero. They’re not brooding, they’re not put out, like ‘Oh dammit, I gotta save the world again!’ Billy Batson is like Peter Parker, they’re thrilled to have these powers and can’t wait to try them out.
As part of its SDCC cover reveal, Entertainment Weekly also spoke with Shazam! producer Peter Safran about the ways in which Warner’s other 2019 tentpole – Wonder Woman 1984 being the first – sets itself apart from the doom and gloom of previous DC movies.
From my perspective, Shazam! represents the next step in the evolution of the DC brand. You had Wonder Woman, then Aquaman [coming Dec. 21] is another big step, then comes Shazam! — all different movies, but all have a unique tone that moves away from the darkness of the prior DC movies.
Phase 2 of the DC Extended Universe begins with Aquaman on December 21st, before David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! movie zooms into theaters in time for April 5th, 2019.
