Zachary Levi is set to reprise his role as the boy-turned-superhero Shazam in the upcoming film Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Amidst continued restructuring at DC Studios, though, some rumors emerged that it would be Levi’s last time suiting up as the character, but he has now quashed that gossip.
The news came via an interaction that Levi had with a pair of fans on Twitter. The original tweet said, “I’m so angry that Zachary Levi isn’t gonna be Shazam anymore he was the perfect casting choice and to add more salt to the wound he is close friends with James Gunn,” referring to the recently hired co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios. Another tweet followed up by saying, “I want this not to be true because his Shazam is [t]he ONE thing in the DCEU I would absolutely throw hands for to protect,” adding that Levi was “perfection.”
It seems the sentiment was widespread as many fans took to Twitter to similarly expressed enthusiasm for Levi’s portrayal of the character. However, Levi alleviated these fears in a quoted tweet, saying, “Oooh, I really wouldn’t go believing everything you see on the internet. I’m Gucci, Ash. We all Gucci,” adding a sunglasses emoji.
It is not surprising that rumors have swirled around a potential re-casting of Levi as Shazam, given that rumors have emerged about pretty much every DC Studios property since Gunn and Peter Safran took over the film house in October. This is partially due to a reported shift in strategy by Gunn and Safran, who will attempt to pivot the often chaotic studio in a new direction. This includes the reported scrapping of large projects such as Wonder Woman 3 and the confirmation by Gunn that Henry Cavill would not be reprising his role as Superman in favor of a younger take on the character. So it was not crazy to think that with all of the new moving parts at DC, there could be a shift for Shazam as well, despite the fact that the original 2019 film was released to mostly positive reviews – a rarity among DC Studio projects.
However, it appears there is no reason to worry when it comes to Levi, who, based on his own words, will hold the mantle of Shazam for the foreseeable future. While a third film in the franchise has not been officially announced, it is likely to occur if Fury of the Gods puts up decent box office numbers. Beyond Levi, the film, directed once again by David F. Sandberg, features Jack Dylan Grazer, Ian Chen, Grace Fulton, Faith Herman, and Djimon Hounsou in returning roles. Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler will also have significant roles in the film. Safran himself produced Fury of the Gods through DC Studios and New Line Cinema from a script by Chris Morgan and Henry Gayden.
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