In some completely unexpected news, we just learned from Entertainment Weekly that Djimon Hounsou will appear as the 3,000-year-old Wizard in Shazam! This is a bit of a surprise, because previous reports indicated that actor Ron Cephas Jones (Luke Cage’s Bobby Fish) was likely to win the role. On the other hand, there had been no mention Djimon Hounsou in connection with Shazam!
Hounsou’s movie credits include a minor role as Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy and an appearance as Midnite in Constantine, with Keanu Reeves.
Korath died in GotG, but is set to return in future MCU installments. In addition, Hounsou will appear in Captain Marvel, which is set in the 1990s and features Kree characters.
The timing of this announcement is another surprising, since shooting for Shazam! already wrapped. In this day and age, keeping this kind of news under wraps is an amazing feat.
Djimon Hounsou's first big role was in the Academy Award-winning Amistad with Matthew McConaughey and Anthony Hopkins. He then appeared in several films, and received his first Oscar nomination for his role in In America. His second nomination came for his work in the Leonardo DiCaprio film Blood Diamond.
The Shazam! cast roster includes Zachary Levi (the titular character), Mark Strong (the main antagonist), and Asher Angel (Billy Batson), among others.
The plot details for Shazam! are another closely kept secret, and we’ve seen no official photos except for a banner with a shot of the main character. But all that could change at San Diego Comic Con 2018!
