Tell me if you’ve heard this one? A young orphan boy finds out that magic is real and learns to harness its power to turn back evil. Did you say Harry Potter?
I was actually talking about Billy Batson.
SAY MY NAME!
We all know that DC has a long list of movies lined up to fill out their Extended Universe. Given the tone established by the DCEU so far, some, myself included, are concerned with how Shazam fits into that vision.
After all, Shazam isn’t exactly known for being a gritty character.
Fear not. The Big Red Cheese is in good hands.
Over the weekend, Dany Garcia, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s production partner, told Newsweek that the Shazam production has an unprecedented level of autonomy.
Shazam is to live in the same world [as the other films] but we have incredible autonomy over this brand and franchise. We are working with a different team, different producers, directors… it’s a different set-up. We don’t feel fettered by, or constrained by, the successes or failures and challenges of the other projects. That was a key component to our participation—that we be able to control the tone and the voice, and do it the way we want to.
That’s good news for Shazam fans.
The hero formerly known as Captain Marvel works best as a lighthearted and, dare I say, humorous antidote to the darker adventures of characters like Batman and Superman.
The Shazam movie has been a labor of love for Johnson for more than a decade. In addition to being a producer of the movie, Johnson will star as villain/anti-hero Black Adam.
The obvious way to differentiate this movie from the others taking place in the DCEU is magic. Shazam’s origin and powers are steeped in magic and focusing on that seems to be the way to go. Warner Brothers knows how to bring magic to the big screen (the aforementioned Harry Potter). They should not shy away from using that knowledge to open up a whole new portion of the DCEU with Shazam.
Shazam is currently set to open on April 5, 2019.
What do you think of this news? Tell us in the comments below.
