'Shazam' Movie News: Zachary Levi Starrer Gets Official Release Date
The "Shazam" movie starring Zachary Levi will hit the theaters on April 5, 2019, Warner Bros. has confirmed.
The news comes just a couple of months after Levi was announced to play the titular role for the highly anticipated DC Comics superhero film.
Asher Angel was cast to play Billy Batson, the young boy who turns into Shazam when he utters the name. His best friend Freddy will be played by "It" star Jack Dylan Grazer.
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"Shazam" will also reportedly feature "Annabelle: Creation" star Grace Fulton as one of Batson's friends and "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" favorite Mark Strong as the main villain. David F. Sandberg will direct the movie.
The April 2019 release would mean that Shazam will be introduced before his rival Black Adam to be played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson although that film is included in the 2019 slate. Other DC Comics movies set to be released next year include "Suicide Squad 2" and "Batgirl."
Apart from the "Shazam" release date, Warner Bros. also revealed that the untitled DC movie set for release this summer, July 27, was removed from the slate.
As for the plot of "Shazam," details on that front are being kept under wraps at the moment, but the movie is expected to tell the origin story of the titular superhero and introduce him fully to the DC Comics Extended Universe (DCEU), which is walking a tightrope at the moment.
All movies in the franchise except for "Wonder Woman" failed to impress critically. The latest ensemble film, "Justice League," was marred with bad reviews on its first week, which resulted in an underwhelming sales performance.
Warner Bros. is doing something about this though, having recently put New Line Production executive vice president Walter Hamada at the helm of the DCEU. Her most recent projects include "It" and "The Conjuring."
As for "Shazam," Levi should be packing some mass for the film as the hero is known for his intimidating size.
