If we can say anything about SHAZAM! director David F. Sandberg, it’s that the man certainly has a sense of humor. The DCEU is in a tough spot. With the exception of Wonder Woman, every single one of their movies has managed to be extremely divisive at best. This has been the case since Man of Steel and continues to plague them now with Justice League, a movie that they really needed to work.
But as the movie heads towards its second weekend and manages to underperform, it’s no surprise that people are expecting grim news for the DCEU to come soon. And for a time it looked like that news had arrived.
In a since-deleted Reddit comment (so a grain of salt was already recommended), a user made the announcement, citing unnamed sources. Apparently, WB planned to scrap the entire connected-universe project. They’d sit on it for five years and try again. Well, Sandberg caught wind of this and decided to respond the only way he could.
Nobody told me. Can I take the day off tomorrow then? I really want to sleep in.
That is some expert-level trolling. It seems that the DCEU is going absolutely nowhere. And that really isn’t any surprise. DC has several films slated for release over the next few years, including SHAZAM!, Green Lantern Corps, Wonder Woman 2, and The Batman. Simply abandoning all of those projects, especially considering how far into development a handful of them are, is unlikely. Not to mention an added factor that isn’t mentioned as often as it should be – home releases. Where DC movies shine tends to be on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice did really well in home releases because of the extended cut. And now fans are clamoring for an (admittedly unlikely) cut of Justice League.
Furthermore, the divisive nature of these movies can only help, in the long run. It keeps people talking about them. Controversy is lucrative in this business. That being said, the DCEU isn’t completely off the hook. While it likely isn’t going anywhere, there are other questions on the horizon. DC has stated that the Flashpoint movie would likely hinge on the success of Justice League. What that means is still a bit murky. It could mean that they intend to use the film to hit the figurative reset button, ultimately tweaking things about the DCEU that people cried foul about. It’d honestly be a pretty ingenious way of course-correcting. That said, it’s just as likely that WB meant the success of Justice League would impact whether or not the movie got made at all, which one hopes isn’t the case.
In any case, SHAZAM! is in no danger of slowing down, especially after the recent casting of Zachary Levi and Asher Angel in the title role. The movie is set to feature Dr. Sivana as the villain, played by Mark Strong. The plan is to begin filming in February. Then SHAZAM! will strike theaters on April 5, 2019
