DC’s Shazam! to star Zachary Levi

‘Shazam!’ has found its hero…

And it’s none other than Zachary Levi.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 37-year-old actor has signed up as the superhero alter ego of Billy Batson – otherwise known as Shazam!

“Zachary Levi is going to be Earth’s mightiest mortal,” they revealed. “The actor will star in the DC comic book adaptation Shazam!, which follows a boy named Billy Batson, who can transform into an adult superhero by uttering the magic word ‘Shazam!’”

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The iconic DC hero was originally known as ‘Captain Marvel’… but was later renamed ‘Shazam!’ using the names of several ancient figures as an acronym – Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.

Of course, Zachary Levi is best known for comedic roles – in particular, his stint as geek-turned-superspy Chuck Bartowski in the hit TV comedy, ‘Chuck’.

But he’s also no stranger to comic book movies.

Marvel fans may recognise him as Fandral – one of Thor’s fellow Asgardians in the recent ‘Thor: Ragnarok’. And it’s a role he’s played since ‘Thor: The Dark World’ after taking over from Josh Dallas, who played Fandral in the first ‘Thor’ movie.

As for director David F. Sandberg, this will be his first comic book movie.

“The studio [New Line] is high on Sandberg and sees him as a homegrown talent after putting out his first feature Lights Out in 2016, and releasing the director’s Annabelle: Creation, the latest installment of The Conjuring universe. The $15 million horror sequel has earned a big $303 million worldwide since opening in August.”

‘Shazam!’ stars Zachary Levi as the titular superhero.

David F. Sandberg will direct the movie, based on a script by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke.

‘Shazam!’ heads to cinemas on 5 April 2019.

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