Wait a minute, doesn't Warner Bros. have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson signed to be part of the DCU? Yeah, they do, and it's kind of amazing that we haven't heard more about Shazam! given that the most popular star in Hollywood is set to play the villain, Black Adam. Then again WB has enough on their plate just getting their cinematic universe out of the crosshairs of angry critics and disgruntled former employees. But Shazam! is still happening, and producer Dany Garcia has provided an update to Newsweek.
If there were any doubts the film would be part of the DCU along with Suicide Squad, Justice League, and the rest, Garcia puts those fears to bed...
“Shazam! is to live in the same world (as the other films), but we have incredible autonomy over this brand and franchise. We are working with a different team, different producers, directors…it’s a different set-up. We don’t feel fettered by, or constrained by, the successes or failures and challenges of the other projects. That was a key component to our participation—that we be able to control the tone and the voice, and do it the way we want to...It needs to be of the world. You’ve got Justice League, Wonder Woman with a different director, so you’re going to see different points of view. I think by the time we land with (Shazam!) we’ll fit nicely within the world that’s been created, but not such a shorthand relationship. (It’ll be) enough that people say, ‘Oh, this is within the family,’ but the culture will be a little different.”
Remember that Johnson was given free reign to choose whether he wanted to play the heroic Captain Marvel or the evil Black Adam, choosing the latter. So he holds tremendous power over the project as a star and producer, making it a priority they get his role just right...
“We’re getting (script) drafts in…it’s important to make sure we get the tone right for Black Adam, which is (The Rock's) part. We don’t mind taking our time. We’re being very careful with each act and scene to go back and layer in as much as possible.”
Presumably we'll start hearing more about Shazam! in the coming months, probably after a director is named.
