One of the most anticipated comic book movies coming up, Shazam, is also the one we know the least about. The curtain was pulled back just a skosh on Monday by one of the film’s stars: Zachary Levi.
Levi took to his Instagram and posed with a large poster of himself as the title character in the upcoming movie.
Not surprisingly, many people took to the internet to express their displeasure. Fans were upset at the slightly goofy theme of this promo image. Levi can be seen in the picture in full uniform, drinking from a large plastic cup, and not exactly taking the whole situation very seriously.
These are most likely people who are just unfamiliar with the source material. Anyone who has actually spent any time reading Shazam (or Captain Marvel as he has been known up till recently) they would be pleased with the direction this film seems to be taking. This latest round of complaints comes not long after set photos of Levi in full superhero garb surfaced online.
Set photos like this are often unflattering, and I think the Instagram post by Levi shows what a post-production version of the character will look like and confirms that it’s not nearly as far from the source material as the naysayers tried to make a point of.
Shazam isn’t a normal superhero. He may look like a grown man, but he’s really just 15 year old Billy Batson. Batson is granted the powers of the wizard Shazam to be his champion for good on Earth. Billy accesses these powers by saying the magic word: Shazam (Hey that’s the name of the movie!), which then transforms him into a full grown adult…while still retaining his 15-year-old mind.
Doesn’t seem so crazy to have Shazam look a little more carefree now, does it? Color me hyped for Shazam when it releases in 2019.
