In what’s set to be an awfully busy year for comic book movies, DC’s Shazam! has a tough battle ahead of it if it’s to stand out amidst some major, major releases, but with the second full-length trailer now here, Billy Batson’s big screen debut is really starting to look like it’ll be more than just a fun but inessential little film to pass the time between Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.
If one thing’s abundantly clear, it’s that Shazam! will be the biggest contradiction yet to the old stereotype that DCEU movies are dark and brooding, with everything we see here suggesting a light and playful tone, along with a very child-heavy cast. And though there’s still a hefty amount of action and what seems to be a formidable villain in the form of Mark Strong’s Doctor Sivana, the emphasis is definitely on the more fun elements of the film, with tons of humor and laughs sprinkled throughout.
All things considered, this definitely looks like something you’re going to want to check out in theaters next month, especially since it appears as if Warner Bros. is already planting the seeds for future developments here, be it in a potential sequel or perhaps the long-awaited Black Adam movie. Though it was once thought that Dwayne Johnson would be showing up as the fan favorite character in Shazam!, executive producer Hiram Garcia has since explained that they decided to give both Adam and Billy their own movies so each character had the necessary time to develop.
Regardless, David F. Sandberg’s feature has so far done a good job in getting folks excited, and after the box office success of Aquaman, the DCEU just might be in the best shape it’s ever been in, commercially speaking. We’ll see if Shazam! can keep this momentum going when it arrives in cinemas on April 5th, 2019.