'Shazam!' Release Date News: Filming All Set to Begin, Director Reveals
The newest film to join the DCEU roster is none other than "Shazam!," DC's own "Captain Marvel," and one of the strongest characters to ever grace the pages of DC Comics.
David Sandberg, the director of the upcoming movie, announced the start of filming with a subtle tease on his Instagram page last week. On Jan. 30, Sandberg posted a photo of a clapperboard with the working title of "Franklin" written on it, along with the cryptic photo caption "let's go!" and the use of a lightning emoji, which is Shazam's trademark logo.
"Shazam!" is the next movie slated by DC after the recent wrap-up of "Aquaman" ahead of its November 2018 release date. Amid rumors of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson appearing in the film as Shazam's archnemesis, Black Adam, Johnson has not been confirmed in the cast, at least as an actor. Johnson will be working on "Shazam!" as an executive producer.
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Shazam's human kid alias, Billy, will be played by Asher Angel, and the full-grown transformed Shazam will be played by famous "Chuck" TV series actor Zachary Levi. It is expected that the movie will have a lighter tone than its previous DC counterparts, due to Billy's age.
Warner Bros. recently disclosed the plot synopsis for the upcoming superhero film at a press release from New Line Cinema:
"We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he'll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong)."
"Shazam!" is set for release on April 5, 2019, five months after DC's "Aquaman."
