Shazam! He is one of the most popular superheroes of all time. Originally called Captain Marvel, the story of a young boy named Billy Batson who could transform into an adult superhero has been captivating audiences since the 1940s. The character is beloved the world over, with his influence felt in various aspects of pop culture with the character’s sidekick Captain Marvel Jr. being the inspiration for Elvis Presley’s signature haircut, lightning bolt logo, and capes. Even if someone has never picked up a comic book before, they probably know the signature slogan, “Shazam!”
Shazam was the star of his own 2019 feature film, titled sequel Shazam! Wrath of the Gods is set to hit theaters, which will pit Billy Batson and his foster family against the Atlas daughters. However, the character has a rich and complex history in an adaptation dating back to the 1940s, a development history that eventually spun Black Adam, Shazam’s most famous enemy, into his own series. Perhaps this has led to the dismantling of the DCEU as fans have known it, turning it into a DCU with an uncertain future. This is Shazam’s long and complex legacy on film.
Shazam is the first superhero to be brought to film
The serial format of films in the 1940s was a popular form of entertainment for children during the time period, as these series tended to be played during the Saturday. Since the target audience was primarily children, it made sense to adapt comic book superheroes to the format since they were the genre’s largest audience. Many of these series saw the first superhero adaptations including the 1943 Batman series, the 1944 Captain America series, and the 1948 Superman series.
However, it was Billy Batson and Captain Marvel who outsmarted each other on the big screen for the first time in 1941. Adventures of Captain Marvel. This means that Captain Marvel was the first live-action comic book superhero to be made into a movie (if you don’t count characters like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, who don’t have superpowers), though this version did make some tweaks to the hero, especially with The number of people he kills.
Captain Marvel also set a trend regarding television adaptations of superheroes in the 1970s. 1974 saw the premiere of the movie Shazam! (At this point, Marvel had the copyright to Captain Marvel), and in 1975 it was a half-block titled Shazam/Isis watch which featured the original character Isis who was a star The secret of Isis. Shazam! It aired for two seasons and preceded other 1970s superhero series such as Wonder Woman in 1975, The Amazing Spider-Man In 1977, w Incredible Hulk in 1978.
Shazam as a great budget feature
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
working on a Shazam! The feature film debut took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was originally developed by New Line Cinema, even before they were officially absorbed into Warner Bros. Pictures. Pictures in 2009. Around that time, Pete Berg had signed on to direct Shazam and Dwayne Johnson was being considered for either the role of Shazam or Black Adam. The project has been in development hell for years (along with other canceled DC films) at Warner Bros. Pictures. While they figure out what to do with their supernatural projects.
in 2014 Shazam! It was one of several titles revealed as part of Warner Bros.’s plans for the sequel. Long term for the DCEU dated April 5, 2019. The film’s release date was so far away that unlike many other projects that have been announced they have already managed to nail their announced date. David F. Sandberg was set to direct in July 2017 and Zachary Levi was cast as Shazam shortly thereafter.
The film opened at number one at the box office in its opening weekend and held its second weekend. It ended up grossing $140 million domestically and $365 million worldwide on a budget of $100 making it a huge hit for Warner Bros. The movie also received some of the DCEU’s best reviews and positioned Shazam in a major role as a new franchise cornerstone that could launch other franchises, crossover with other heroes and villains, and have potential for different sequels. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many delays and behind-the-scenes struggles that would lead to the spread of Shazam! A privilege to lose a lot of momentum before it takes off.
Shazam and Black Adam break up
Shazam has three main enemies, with Dr. Sifian and Mr. Mind appearing in its first movie with the promise of more in the sequel. However, the other bigger and better known is Black Adam, who was originally intended to be the villain in the beginning Shazam! film. However, when Dwayne Johnson signed on to play the role and his star power grew over the years, Warner Bros. decided they didn’t want to make him a one-time villain and instead made him the star of their own superhero franchise so Black Adam was produced into his own solo movie simply titled Black Adam.
There are many ways this can work using Black Adam As a way to build a fight between Shazam and Black Adam either in the third Shazam! Specific movie or crossover movie. However, that wasn’t what happened, in fact, Dwayne Johnson didn’t seem to like it Shazam! Absolutely a privilege and looked the distance Black Adam From this part of the franchise though both characters get their powers from the same source and have similar costumes and powers.
Dwayne Johnson refused to appear Shazam! Wrath of the Gods Instead, it centered on a major fight between Black Adam and Superman, even bringing back Henry Cavill despite Warner Bros. developing plans for a new Superman movie without the actor. Every other major hero in the DCEU is referenced Black Adam Except for Shazam, no one ever noticed these characters were the same. With the changes made to the DCU and Black Adam not having any part of it, there’s certainly a huge missed opportunity for Shazam and Black Adam to not have eye to eye.
What does the future hold for Shazam?
sequel to Shazam! Wrath of the Gods It’s finally set to hit theaters on March 17, 2023, nearly four years after the opening date of the first film. While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly hurt the project’s momentum, it feels like a major flaw for Warner Bros. to not fast-track a fast-paced sequel because it would allow the film’s child actors to look like kids and keep the basic premise of the franchise, while also quickly building out a franchise that’s more accessible to family audiences.
When he was still called Captain Marvel, he was at one point the most popular superhero in the world, even surpassing Superman, because the idea of ​​a child becoming an adult superhero was the ultimate wish fulfillment every child could live with. This was a box office hit franchise waiting to happen that could have crossed over to a similar fanbase Harry Potter. Now, Warner Bros. has waited. So much time to act that the new movie is tracking down to one of the worst openings in DCU history.
There’s also the matter of what the future holds for Shazam in terms of the future of the DCU, now that James Gunn and Peter Safran have laid out their new plans for the franchise. The plan seems to be to wait and see how Shazam! Wrath of the Gods It performs at the box office, and if it does well, it could easily be factored into the new plans.
If it fails, DC can just forget about it and move on, either by dropping the character entirely (as Black Adam) or restarting the franchise with new stars at some point in the future. It’s highly unlikely that Shazam will be gone for a long time, as the character is one of the most famous in the world and will return in some form or form on the big screen.
