Shazam! has been in pre-production for over a month, and we’re still waiting for an official casting announcement. But an audition tape that recently surfaced online apparently confirmed that a Shazam sidekick from the comics will appear in the movie.
Audition tapes that were leaked last month featured child actors reading for the part of Billy Batson, as well as adults reading for Shazam. This latest tape has Brendan Heard (PBS Kids' Odd Squad and NBC's Hannibal) auditioning for the role of "a disabled foster kid" named Frank.
The name doesn't ring a bell. But after reading the description, we’re guessing that the character was actually the comics’ Freddy Freeman, and Frank was just a temporary name. Created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy in the early 1940s, Freddy became Shazam’s sidekick, Shazam Jr. (previously Captain Marvel Jr.). Interestingly, Frank shared in the audition tape that due to his disability, he longed to have powers like Billy’s.
There were no other notable disclosures about the David F. Sandberg flick, but the tape included nods to other superheroes. Brendan Heard's chatty character made his superhero obsession known by talking about his Batman batarang replica. He went on to say that he had a greater fondness for Superman, and added that he was the proud owner of a nine millimeter round that bounced off the Kryptonian.
Head over to Vimeo to check out the audition tape!
Under the working title of Franklin, filming for Shazam! is expected to take place from February 5 to May 4, 2018 in Toronto. It's scheduled to hit the theaters on April 5, 2019.
