When Warner Bros. first announced their DC slate back in 2014, it stretched all the way into 2020 and featured several films that have already been released and others that have yet to materialize in any form. Among them, however, was Shazam!, which was set for an April 5, 2019 release, but as the project has evolved (and even split off into two different movies) that release date has remained up in the air.
Speaking with fans on Reddit (via CBR), director David F. Sandberg confirmed that the release date previously announced all those years ago is still the target for the hero.
“April 2019,” Sandberg replied when asked if 2019 was the true release date. “It takes a long time to make vfx heavy movies.”
The Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director is set to step behind the camera for Shazam!, with Peter Safran set to produce. Jack the Giant Slayer scribe Darren Lemke previously penned the script for Shazam!, which is scheduled to shoot in Vancouver next year.
Dwayne Johnson will not appear as the villain Black Adam in the film and is developing a solo film for the anti-hero as a separate project. Without Black Adam, the most well known villain for the hero, there aren’t many villains left for Shazam to tussle with. One potential replacement villain could be Doctor Sivana, who made his debut with the hero in Whiz Comics #2 in 1940.
Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, Shazam first appeared in Fawcett Comics’ Whiz Comics #2. By saying the world “Shazam,” teenager Billy Batson was transformed into the “world’s mightiest mortal” and given extraordinary abilities by ancient gods. Originally known as Captain Marvel, legal disputes between DC and Marvel comics over the decades led to the hero receiving an official name change in 2011.
