Zachary Levi Used KINGDOM COME to Influence His Character in SHAZAM!

A lot of inspiration for Shazam! has reportedly come from the New 52 run of the comics. However, it turns out that Zachary Levi used some other stories in creating his new version of the character. In a recent interview with CB, Levi talked about the influence that Kingdom Come had.

“As soon as I got the job, Geoff Johns sent me a whole bunch of stuff and some other stuff recommended stuff. I wanted to read those to just kind of familiarize myself but also see if there were little nuggets or little things. But the truth is, The New 52 is really not canon for this, because this is even different than what the new 52 is.

I did quite like Kingdom Come. Even though that’s a completely different situation, it shows Captain Marvel’s innocence. He’s an adult, and he still has that heart. And I thought, ‘Oh that’s such a cool thing to be able to take that in.’ And it’s ultimately a sacrificial move at the end and all of that I just found that was more inspiration for me than even The New 52 in a lot of ways.

We get away with a lot in comics because you get to draw whatever the hell you want and you, as the reader, get to put a real voice in your head to those characters. But in the movies, as an actor, you really have to try and bring that to life in the most realistic way possible. And that’s a really weird thing to do.”

Here’s a quick description of the Kingdom Come story if you haven’t read it:

“[A]n adult Billy Batson is manipulated into working for Lex Luthor, becoming an enforcement arm of Luthor’s criminal enterprises. This ultimately leads to an epic battle between Shazam and Superman in the final issue.”

What’s your favorite story for Shazam? Shazam! will be in theaters on April 5, 2019.