We’ve seen him chugging cans of cola and slurping on a super-sized soda, but for Billy Batson’s latest close-up, Warner Bros. has delivered the first trailer for Shazam!, finally giving us a proper look at what’s quickly turning into one of 2019’s most anticipated releases.
Funny, charming, humorous but maybe also a little too light-hearted for a superhero movie, this footage is a stark contrast from the dark and moody reveals that prefaced Batman V Superman and Justice League, but it’s clear that viewers are beginning to welcome this change of pace and judging by what we see here, it honestly might just be what the DCEU needs right now.
And as for Levi? Well, 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.
In case you need it, here’s a reminder of the journey that awaits young Bill Batson as he’s imbued with the power of the gods – quite literally, mind you, after a mysterious old wizard grants him the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas and much, much more…
In the film, Billy (whose younger version is played by Disney Channel star Asher Angel) is assigned to a new foster home where he befriends comic book superfan Freddy. One day, Billy’s subway ride is interrupted by a mysterious Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) whose been searching for ages to find the right successor to inherit his powers. He reveals the teen’s been selected to gain an assortment of abilities, and all it takes is for Billy to say ‘SHAZAM!’
Shazam! lights up theaters around the world on April 5th, 2019. That places it between Aquaman on December 21st, 2018 and Wonder Woman 1984 on November 1st, 2019, both of which are shaping up to be very exciting releases as well.
