SHAZAM! Graces The Cover of EW Magazine and The Film Represents The Next Evolution of the DC Brand
Entertainment Weekly has shared the cover of their special Comic-Con issue and it features DC Entertainment's Shazam! It shows Zachary Levi as the superhero blowing a big gum bubble and playing on his phone. It certainly highlights the child-like aspects of the character. When talking about playing Shazam, Levi says:
"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,” Levi enthuses. “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."
Producer Peter Safran goes on to explain that Shazam! represent the next evolution of the DC brand:
"From my perspective, Shazam! represents the next step in the evolution of the DC brand. You had Wonder Woman, then Aquaman [coming Dec. 21] is another big step, then comes Shazam! — all different movies, but all have a unique tone that moves away from the darkness of the prior DC movies."
I like everything that I've seen from the film so far and I can't wait to finally watch the trailer, which will be released this next weekend at Comic-Con.
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) who’s 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!”
Levi also comments on the suit that he had to wear in the film saying, "It fits me like a glove, because it is a fucking glove. It’s super tight, but it’s great. I look and feel like this jacked superhero."
Here's the full cover:
This is the previously released synopsis:
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Zachary 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 (Mark Strong).
Shazam! also stars Grace Fulton (Annabelle: Creation); Darla, played by Faithe Herman (This is Us) as Mary; Eugene, played by Ian Chen (Fresh Off the Boat); and Pedro, played by Jovan Armand (TV’s Hawaii Five-O). Cooper Andrews of The Walking Dead and Marta Milans (Killer Women) play foster parents Victor and Rosa Vasquez. Then there's Djimon Hounsou who was cast in the role of the 3,000-year-old sorcerer who ends up giving young Billy Batson his powers. Jack Dylan Grazer will play Billy's best friend Freddy Freeman.
Shazam! will be released on April 5, 2019.