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Report: 'Shazam' eyeing Cena or Sasse, Billy Batson character bio revealed

L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link.

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Just say the magic word and we are back with another scoop from the land of superheroes. So let’s get into it…Shazam!

While the geek world shifts through all of the various Joker movies that are in development. New Line Cinema. a subsidiary of Warner Bros quietly has been whittling away at their own upcoming contribution to DC Comics on film, with their production of Shazam. The long in development movie, about an ordinary kid who receives the power of the gods, has been gaining speed behind the scenes as it moves closer to filming next year.

Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sanberg has been hired to direct the first big-screen adaptation of Shazam, and he has not been shy about sharing his ambitions for the project in recent weeks. In addition to previously revealing that there’s a finished script for the project, credited to Henry Gayden, he also has confirmed that it would be the next movie to lens for the DC Extended Universe.

It seems that Sandberg is indeed correct and there’s currently a huge casting search underway for the next Billy Batson and Shazam. In fact, we received an interesting update on the project recently and were provided the following description of the Billy Batson role:

Male, 12-15 years old. A teenager who becomes Captain Marvel, the world’s mightiest mortal. Granted access to incredible powers by the wizard Shazam, he speaks the wizard’s name and is struck by a lightning bolt that gives him the powers of the gods.
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That description of Batson is torn from the pages of the comics and is a firm assertion that the history of the character will be respected in the adaptation. In fact, the film’s working synopsis seems to signal that the comic’s mythology won’t be avoided:

Based on the DC Comics character “Shazam!” Billy Batson becomes Captain Marvel, the world’s mightiest mortal, when he says the magic word “Shazam! The name is an acronym for six gods and heroes of the ancient world as well as their attributes. The wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles and speed of Mercury.
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The synopsis isn’t set in stone but does set the tone for the upcoming movie, which is slated to be Sandberg’s first lighthearted cinematic romp. While the search for Billy Batson is still casting a wide net, it seems that the studio is closing in on Shazam himself.

According to our sources, actor Joshua Sasse (Galavant) and wrestling superstar John Cena (Bumblebee spin-off film) are tentatively the front runners for the role of Shazam. While there apparently was a third dark horse contender that has seemingly fallen out of favor, however that name couldn’t be confirmed. Sasse is undoubtedly the lesser known of the two named actors, however that could work in the studio’s benefit as he could become the face of the hero, without being weighed down by previous cinematic baggage.

On the other hand, Cena is one of wrestling’s most recognizable faces and has steadily been growing his filmography over the past decade. Cena seemingly opened new doors with his comedic performance in Trainwreck, as a dopey, yet lovable bro who was at the receiving end of Amy Schumer’s jokes. That experience will presumably come in handy if he is indeed cast as Shazam. A hero with the power and physique of Superman, but the mind of a pre-teen.

The identity of the film’s villain is still tightly under wraps. It’s been widely reported that there aren’t any overt plans to include the Black Adam character as the film’s primary antagonist, however, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is currently attached to the project as a producer, along with DC Films’ Geoff Johns. It’s unclear how large and in what capacity Johnson will be producing. But it’s worth noting that he typically produces projects that he’s involved in, which would seemingly bode well for potential future installments in the franchise.

The movie is scheduled to roll cameras in the first week of February. This will position it as the next DC film to hit theaters following next year’s Aquaman and it’s kid-friendly nature, could be the perfect palette cleanser before the new wave, or phase, of DC films hits theaters. There is a lot more to come on this one.
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R

Rvaan

Banned
Cena v Rock. A once in a lifetime event!
Also I bet that Captain Marvel line has Disney readying lawyers.
 
P

Platy

Member
Sasse would need to seriously bulk up for the role...but he probably can act better than Cena ...
 
Z

ZeroX03

Banned
Rvaan said:
Cena v Rock. A once in a lifetime event!
Also I bet that Captain Marvel line has Disney readying lawyers.
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IIRC, DC is allowed to use the name, they just can't title a book/movie after it so they tend to use Shazam nowadays to avoid the mess.

chrisPjelly said:
But will they be putting in the effort to CGI John Cena in?
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Frost Walrus said:
I don't know about this. To my knowledge, Captain Marvel does not have Invisibility powers.
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Good. This is good.

HP_Wuvcraft said:
Both Sasse and Cena are amazing fucking choices. DC getting on Marvel's level casting-wise?
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The casting has always been pretty solid, it's directing choices in DC's case. Marvel wastes fantastic actors on underdeveloped villains too.
 
J

JonnyDBrit

Member
I'm gonna wait until I see an actual trailer or something before presuming that 'Captain Marvel' will be the actual, in-movie name, rather than just a generic dump for casting purposes.

I mean, it might happen, since DC are using the classic wizard again instead of Mamaragan, thus possibly meaning they're not gonna stick with the Shazam name as the hero identity if they revert that as well, but we'll see.
 
S

Shin K Dash

Member
if there was a ever a role for John Cena, I can't think of a better one.

A child in a superhero body is something I can see him pulling off very well.
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
That's all well and good but is there going to be a talking tiger with a jetpack in this film? And if yes, who's gonna voice him? My money's on Sir Anthony Hopkins, he was born for this.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Usually with the DC news I just bet on whoever is represented by CAA, but I don't think either is here. And isn't Shazam some kinda co-production? Hmm.

I'll go with Sasse just because that would be different.
 
J

JonnyDBrit

Member
Grizzlyjin said:
Usually with the DC news I just bet on whoever is represented by CAA, but I don't think either is here. And isn't Shazam some kinda co-production? Hmm.

I'll go with Sasse just because that would be different.
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Yep - New Line Cinema are handling production, though they are technically owned by Time Warner too.
 
P

Penguin

Member
I won't get too excited by this, The Hashtag Show has a relatively spotty record from what I remember

Janelle Monae as Domino in Deadpool, Joss Whedon directing Flash/Supergirl musical and just some other casting things that never panned out.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
It's the rubber match we've all been waiting for... just release this shit during WrestleMania weekend one year and it'll be money for all parties concerned.

john-cena-vs-the-rock-wrestlemania-281.jpg

the-rock-and-john-cena-o.gif
tumblr_ossqyhQ3pl1u2kv15o1_400.gif
 
B

BossDarkseid

Member
After seeing that Make a Wish compilation from Cena I feel like the spirit would be pretty great for
the true
Captain Marvel. Although part of it would be stunt casting.
 
G

Gordon Shumway

Banned
Rvaan said:
Captain Marvel is the name of both a DC hero and a Marvel hero. Brie Larson is playing the Marvel version.
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You are correct. Picked it up when Fawcett Comics goofed up, it seems. But yeah, Captain Marvel has still been used..like in the DC fighting games, for instance.

Edit-

lol..quoted the wrong post.
 
P

Penguin

Member
Oh they were the source of the Captain America dies in Civil War rumors?

Yeah... gonna say a no on this happening then
 
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