When word came down yesterday that a Shazam movie will, in fact, still be happening and could begin production as soon as February of 2018, we were admittedly taken by surprise since there hadn’t been anything substantial to report on the project in quite some time. And despite recent rumors saying that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wouldn’t be co-starring as Black Adam in Billy Batson’s first big screen outing, we remained hopeful.
But, according to DC head honcho Geoff Johns, it’s simply not in the cards:
“We haven’t announced any casting yet. But Dwayne isn’t going to be in this movie. He’s still doing Black Adam, but he won’t be in Shazam!”
Truth be told, we should’ve seen this coming, especially since it was stated that Black Adam will be getting his own movie earlier this year, but that doesn’t make it any less baffling. Sure, Teth-Adam certainly has a rich backstory of his own, but we normally think of him as both Shazam’s chief nemesis and as a key component in the Big Red Cheese’s origin. Heck, go back and watch the Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam animated short and try telling us differently.
Now, there are other villains to choose from such as Doctor Sivana, whom, now that I think about it, could very well be showing up in the 2019 blockbuster, but the studio should learn that star power alone doesn’t sell a movie.
Like any of you, we just want to see the best Shazam film possible, so hopefully Johns and company have a solid vision of where they’re going with all this. It’d just be a real shame if one or both movies don’t resonate with fans and we never get to see these two titans do battle on the silver screen.