SHAZAM! Had to be Careful With the Toy Props in the Film

I feel like the DC movies are in a weird position. Warner Bros. was trying to copy Marvel’s formula of having superhero team up movies i.e. Justice League, but after that bombed, they seem to have decided that may not be the best approach for them. However, they have built some kind of shared universe for their characters even if said characters don’t always get together for coffee every five films. This means that some level of continuity needs to be maintained and that was a hurdle that Shazam! had to deal with.

We’ve heard that there would be a toy store in the film and there are malls and such where a lot of superhero memorabilia would be sold. After all, the superheroes are real in this world and who wouldn’t want to snuggle with a stuffed Batman? Well, CinemaBlend got to visit the set and learned that one of the things Shazam! had to deal with was which toys could be used in the film. According to David F. Sandberg:

“No, it was sort ... No, they’re all sort of real DC toys that are in there. I mean, some were like, ‘Hey, you can’t have that character, because that character’s not in the universe yet. You have to stick to these characters.’”

That essentially means that we’ll only see memorabilia of Aquaman, Batman, Cyborg, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad (although I do question if those guys had toys made for them). No Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, etc. toys were allowed for filming. This all makes sense though as this means that the studio doesn’t have to commit to a film they don’t want to make, but it would also make things difficult if they try to introduce a character in the past such as Green Lantern.

Shazam! will hit theaters on April 5, 2019. Are you excited? I am.