David Sandberg’s own treatment of DC property, Shazam!, may unofficially share space with the previous DCEU films. However, clearly this one is standing on its own two jolly feet with Zachary Levi and Asher Angel playing the respective alteregos of our title superhero in the new action adventure, as the official trailer proudly shows this weekend.
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.”
Shazam! also stars Mark Strong as the villainous Dr. Thaddeus Sivana with Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, and Ron Cephas Jones as the Wizard. Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema will release the film in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D on April 5, 2019.
