Zachary Levi Teases ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods,’ Talks DC and Marvel Film Differences, Similarities

Zachary Levi Teases ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods,’ Talks DC and Marvel Film Differences, Similarities July 1, 2022

In his new book “Radical Love,” “Shazam!” star Zachary Levi reveals his mental health struggles, recovery, and healing through forgiveness and faith. Part self-help and part memoir, the book also provides a backstory of him being cast as the lead of the blockbuster 2019 superhero film (spoiler alert: he initially turned down the audition).

CINEMACON 2022 – SHAZAM – FURY OF THE GODS – PHOTOS BY ERIC CHARBONNEAU, IMAGE COURTESY OF WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES

Following the success of the David F. Sandberg film, the Shazam family will return on Dec. 21 for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” starring Levi with Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Rachel Zegler, Helen Mirren, and Lucy Liu. In this exclusive interview with Reel Faith’s DeWayne Hamby, Levi teases what fans can expect when lightning strikes twice, the “blessing” of getting the role, and the similarities between “Shazam” and Marvel films.

 

Are there any nuggets you can share about “Fury of the Gods”?

Not at all! (laughs) Well, I mean, it’s all under wraps for a reason. And ultimately, look, I’m a firm believer in not spoiling things. And I so to the extent that I will say I am very proud of it. I was really proud of the first one, and I really do think we made a really charming movie out of it. And now we had more time and more budget, and we’re established characters within our own world. Outside of that, and you know, Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu coming in as baddies, I mean, dude, it’s real good. Everyone at Warner Brothers is very excited about it. Everyone in DC is excited about it, so excited that we were supposed to come out next June and now we’re a Christmas movie this year! So, I think that’s that that says it all, everyone’s very pumped about the possibility of it. I think the only thing we got to worry about is that we’re going to be battling “Avatar.” So, as long as we can take down the blue Na’vi, then we’ll be styling, I think.

 

It’s still a pretty fun movie, right? Some of these franchises kind of start out fun, and then they kind of raised the stakes. I’m sure the stakes are raised, but you still have the humor and, and all that.

Oh, yeah. I mean, it’s the pedigree. It’s part of our DNA, you know, “Shazam!” is one part action movie, like other superhero movies, but it’s also equally one part heart and one part humor. So, if you take any of those three things away, we’re not really “Shazam!” anymore. It’s not lost on me that God saw fit to bless me with this role of this child who couldn’t grow up, a man child, but that loves that has heart and humor. I mean, it’s what I’ve done in almost all of my roles, and I love doing it. It separates it from the rest of the pack. You know, we’re different certainly within the DC Universe. I think that there might be some similarity within the Marvel Universe to certain tones of those movies. But I’m just so grateful. It’s such a great role, and this movie will be something I think people really enjoy.

 

Now. I’m a DC fan all the way. So, I’ve never thought they skipped a beat. But most people attribute to DC’s winning streak to starting really with “Shazam!.” I’m sure you know that.

Well, maybe within some modern part of that, but like, DC was kicking Marvel’s butt a long time ago. I mean, “Superman” was the first, Christopher Reeve, Richard Donner “Superman.” That’s where it started. Then Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, then you get into the Christopher Nolan “Batman.” I think there’s been some trying to figure out what is ‘What is the DC world?’ I think a lot of that was response to Marvel building their greater universe, and ‘How do we do that?’ There’s some, some starts and stops in that. But I will say, within the modern titles of DC, we certainly have gotten to be the most fun and irreverent and kind of, very different than “Deadpool,” but also like kind of the “Deadpool of DC” in that we are in the universe, but we get to comment on the universe where a lot of other movies don’t do that. They can’t do that. They’re more serious, you know. I’m grateful. I’m grateful that totally we get to be that.

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” starring Zachary Levi, will release December 21 from Warner Brothers. “Radical Love” is available now from Harper Horizon.


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