Yahoo Movies Is Zachary Levi Wearing Fake Muscles for 'Shazam!'? An Investigation
Actor Zachary Levi looks jacked in recent photos from the set of DC's Shazam!
Are those his real muscles, or is he wearing a padded superhero suit?
The actor has been working out hard, hitting the gym five or six days a week
Photos from the set of DC's Shazam! showing star Zachary Levi in full super-suit have raised a number of questions among fans.
Questions like: Is that Zachary Levi's real arm, or what?
Sorry, let's back up and give a little context. Shazam! — due to premiere in 2019 — is centered on the DC Comics character Billy Batson, a teenager given the powers of the gods by a wizard. Whenever Batson speaks the magic word ("shazam"), he turns into an incredibly jacked-looking Zachary Levi.
The character was originally created by artist C.C. Beck and writer Bill Parker in an issue of... Do you even care? Or can we just get back to talking about the size of Levi's arms in these photos?
Full disclosure, I think the costume itself is cartoonish and great, and Levi is a perfect pick for the role. This is not a DC hit piece. Marvel did not pay me to write this. The only thing Marvel has ever asked me to do, in their words, is "please stop sending us unsolicited screenplays." But — while also keeping in mind that these are unofficial photos of a costume destined for a ton of CGI fuckery — I'm not sure I'm ready to believe those muscles belong 100% to the actor.
So are those Levi's real muscles? Welcome to LeviGate 2018, quite possibly the biggest bicep cover-up since the invention of spandex.
The Case Against
The most convincing evidence against those being the Chuck star's unaltered arms would be any photo taken of Zachary Levi ever. Here is the actor attending the Justice League premiere in November of 2017:
That's a lanky dude, right? He's definitely in shape, but he's not sporting biceps that look straight out of the Arnold Strongman Classic. Shazam-set-photo Zachary Levi would burst out of Justice League-premiere Zachary Levi's suit every time he crossed his arms.(Continued below)
The Case For
To be fair, the actor has clearly been putting the work in to bulk up and combat criticisms that he's not yoked enough for the role. Back in October, his friend and apparent spotter showcased the actor "kicking [his] ass in the gym."
Eric Blackmon seems to be the one in charge of documenting the actor's weight training over the past few months.
Plus, Levi has been taking to social media to casually show off a pair of increasingly impressive guns in more ways than one.
Apparently, these results are the product of a strict workout and diet regimen. "I'm working out like five, six days a week," he said on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside Of You podcast a few weeks ago. "Sometimes we'll do two-a-days and then more off days, but typically we'll do an hour-and-fifteen-minute sessions every day."
According to the interview, Levi is on a 3,700-calorie diet, packing on 20 pounds "in about a month and a half."
But wait.
It is important — nay, imperative — to note that Warner Bros. declined MensHealth.com's request for a clarifying interview with the Shazam! costume department, citing the need "to preserve as much of the movie magic as possible while the film is still in production."
LeviGate 2018 may go deeper than any of us can imagine.
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