That Captain Marvel and Shazam! are releasing in close proximity to one another is really doing a number on my brain. I’ve been a DC guy since way back, and even after Marvel Studios’ advertising blitz, when someone says Captain Marvel to me I immediately think of the character now known as Shazam. That the films have this strange symbiotic relationship has inevitably lead the more partisan DC and Marvel fans to pit them against one another in competition. And, as we all know too well, folks on the internet can take a simple inter-movie rivalry to ridiculously furious levels.
Captain Marvel is now an unambiguous hit with audiences and critics, demolishing the arguments of legions of naysayers by being almost certain to break a billion dollars at the box office. Driven even angrier by this, fans have been trying to drag Shazam! star Zachary Levi into the argument, but he’s having none of it, telling his followers:
“It came to my attention, what was going on, because I was on Twitter or something. And I was getting added by people that were saying what was very clearly fictitious, defaming things about Brie and about Captain Marvel. I’m not affiliated with anything; I’ve known Brie over the years and I think she’s delightful and talented.
By the way she doesn’t need anybody sticking up for her. I was trying to talk to people who thought they were doing me a favor. They were like ‘We’re not gonna see that, we’re gonna see Shazam!’. You can just say you want to see Shazam!. You don’t have to go and speak ill of someone else in order to raise me or this movie up.”
Good for Zachary Levi. Squabbling about whether DC or Marvel is better isn’t a good look for anyone and I’m glad to see him rise above it.
Given the positive advance reception of Shazam!, it seems that his star will also soon be rising as well. Audiences who’ve seen the movie have been buzzing with positivity about its Big-like take on the superhero formula, and from what we’ve seen in clips and trailers it seems as if they’re right on the money. We’ll find out for ourselves just how good it is though on April 5th, when the movie opens in theaters. Hopefully, it’ll have a decent run at the box office before Avengers: Endgame releases and crushes all before it.