We've been debating for some time which child actor would be chosen to play Billy Batson opposite Zachary Levi's Shazam. Now we have the answer, and director David F. Sandberg has confirmed it.
In August, Sandberg suggested that he would use two different actors to play young Batson and his adult superhero alter-ego, as opposed to using CGI to de-age a single individual. Leaked audition tapes that subsequently surfaced online seemed to confirm his remarks. Then it was announced that Levi had been cast as Shazam. Most recently, Variety revealed that Asher Angel, who played Jonah Beck in the Disney Channel's Andi Mack, landed the role of Billy Batson.
Sandberg made the news official by posting a pic on Instagram of Zachary Levi with a photo of Angel. It’s captioned as follows:
I was hoping to break the news about @asherdovangel (Asher Angel) last week with this photo, but had to wait a bit.
Check out the photo below!
Sandberg’s Instagram photo
Asher Angel also took to Instagram to share his good news. The 15-year-old actor shared that he felt "blessed and beyond excited" about having the opportunity to portray Billy Batson on the big screen.
In addition, it’s likely that the Shazam! cast roster will include Mark Strong and Grace Fulton, who have both entered negotiations with the studio. If they’re signed, Strong would play the villainous Doctor Sivana and Fulton would play one of Batson's friends.
Warner Bros. still has its eye on its original April 2019 release date, so David F. Sandberg is expected to get the cameras rolling by February 2018. An alleged casting call hinted that several supporting characters from DC Comics lore would appear, so we’re hoping to see additional casting announcements during the coming weeks.
