Zachary Levi cast to play Shazam in upcoming film

FTC Statement: Reviewers are frequently provided by the publisher/production company with a copy of the material being reviewed.The opinions published are solely those of the respective reviewers and may not reflect the opinions of CriticalBlast.com or its management.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. (This is a legal requirement, as apparently some sites advertise for Amazon for free. Yes, that's sarcasm.)

Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 10/28/2017 - 16:24

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Zachary Levi is going to be Earth's mightiest mortal.

The actor will star in the DC comic book adaptation Shazam!, which follows a boy named Billy Batson, who can transform into an adult superhero by uttering the magic word "Shazam!"

...

David F. Sandberg is directing Shazam! for New Line...from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke. Annabelle: Creation producer Peter Safran is reuniting with Sandberg for the film, and is also producing DC's Aquaman for Warner Bros.

...

On Saturday, Levi shared a message, as well as some art imagining him as the character.

"Honored and greatly humbled to be a part of the #dcuniverse by bringing the original Captain Marvel to life," he wrote on Instagram. "I am beside myself with gratitude, not only for this opportunity, but also the incredible outpouring of love and support from so many of you out there in the world. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in the gym for the rest of forever."

...

No release date for Shazam! is set but New Line is eying a February 2018 start in Toronto.

The film is being developed concurrently with a film focusing on Shazam villain Black Adam to star Dwayne Johnson.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Commentary: I have to admit, if you asked me to list every possible actor I thought could play Shazam, I doubt Zachary Levi would show up on that list. That is not intended as a knock on Zach Levi, I just always imagined Shazam as a big, muscular dude. Zach Levi makes perfect sense as Fandral in the Thor movies, but Shazam just seems like he should be of much bigger stature.

That said, I do think Levi can bring the childlike wonder that the best versions of Shazam have had. And he seems totally amped up to play the role. I loved his line about "I'll be in the gym for the rest of forever." And that fan art Zach Levi posted looks really cool. If they go that route, this could work out really well.