Announced in 2014 as part of the original Warner Bros. slate of DC Extended Universe movies, it seemed that Shazam! might be less likely to happen than any of the other films on the list. Shazam! is a lesser-known superhero compared with, say, Green Lantern. It was also said that the movie wouldn’t take place in the same continuity as the other movies. But keep in mind that this was way back in 2014.
Three years later, Warner Bros. is moving forward with Shazam!, and they’ve tapped David F. Sandberg, who’s best known for the hit Anabelle: Creation, to direct. He’s spoken about Shazam! a number of times, although he hasn’t provided any information about plot, actors, shooting locations, and so on.
Sandberg did announce via a symbolic image on his Instagram account that Shazam! has officially entered pre-production.
Of course, that can is all that’s visible, but we assume that it means that Sandberg’s starting from scratch. We expect to see storyboards, sketches, casting photos, and so on, on that wall in the near future.
The studio has announced that shooting for Shazam! will take place in January or February 2018, so the director has four or five months left to decide on the main cast and shooting locations. The script is already in place, so Sandberg has plenty of time at his disposal.
Damn @HenryGayden This latest draft is perfect! #Shazam! pic.twitter.com/GTskkWkeBu
"” David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) August 6, 2017
Of course, we know next to nothing about the movie. According to the information we do have, two different actors will play Billy Batson and Shazam! to avoid having to de-age an older actor. We also know that Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam won't make an appearance.
But with pre-production in process, we can expect to have new details for you in the near future.
Shazam! is scheduled for release on April 5, 2019.
