Age of The Nerd
Warner Brothers has finally revealed the first image from the upcoming DC Comics film ‘Shazam!‘, featuring star Zachary Levi in full costume. Even though there have been a few unofficial leaks of Levi in costume as the title character, this first-look image finally shows Shazam! in his full glory. The film tells the story of Billy Batson, who upon saying the words “Shazam!”, transforms himself into an adult superhero who has increased strength, the ability to fly, super speed, among other abilities.
Speaking with EW, who debuted the image, director David F. Sandberg described their approach to re-designign the costume for the big screen as such:
[quote]“I wanted to keep the shorter cape as a throwback to the original because that’s something that sets him apart from Superman or Batman. It makes him feel a bit more Golden Age superhero, which is the vibe I’m going for.”[/quote]Based on Sandbeg’s comments ‘Shazam!‘ will be more of a light-hearted throwback, at least in terms of the look of the costume itself. Tonally speaking, the film has been described as ‘Big‘ meets ‘Superman‘, which is certainly a welcome departure from his work on horror hits ‘Annabelle: Creation’ and ‘Lights Out’. If a ‘Big‘-esque tone is what they’re going for, this image only seems to enforce the playful nature of the movie.
In addition to Levi, the film also stars Asher Angel, who will play young Billy Batson. In addition to Levi and Angel, the stellar cast includes Mark Strong as the villainous Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, alongside Jack Dylan Grazer (also pictured),Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, and Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard. With San Diego Comic-Con 2018 around the corner, expect to see a trailer debuted during the film’s panel on July 21st. In the meantime, here’s the official synopsis and logo for the film below:
“We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (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 (Strong).”
