Shazam! (film)

Shazam! is a 2019 American superhero film based on the DC character Shazam. Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Films, the Safran Company, and Seven Bucks Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the seventh installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It was directed by David F. Sandberg from a screenplay by Henry Gayden who co-wrote the story with Darren Lemke, and stars Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Djimon Hounsou. The film follows teenager Billy Batson (Angel) as he is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam (Hounsou) to be his new champion by saying the name "Shazam", allowing him to transform into an adult superhero (Levi) with various superpowers. Billy and his foster brother Freddy Freeman (Grazer) must discover Billy's new powers in order to stop the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong) and the Seven Deadly Sins.

Development of a live-action Shazam! film began at New Line in the early 2000s, but was delayed for several years. The film went into pre-production in 2009, with Peter Segal as director, John August as writer and Dwayne Johnson being considered to star as the anti-hero Black Adam, but the project fell through; Johnson acts as an executive producer on Shazam! William Goldman, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, Bill Birch, and Geoff Johns, among others, were all attached to the project as writers at various points. The film was officially announced in 2014, with Johnson attached to star as either Shazam or Black Adam. In January 2017, he was cast to lead a solo Black Adam development project. Sandberg signed on to direct Shazam! in February 2017, and Levi was cast that October, with Angel joining the following month. Principal photography began in Toronto on January 29, 2018, with most of the film shot at Pinewood Toronto Studios, and wrapped on May 11.

Shazam! was released in the United States on April 5, 2019. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $367.8 million worldwide. It was followed by a sequel titled Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) and a spin-off film Black Adam (2022), both of which failed to meet the critical and financial success of the first film.

Plot

In 1974 in Upstate New York, young Thaddeus Sivana is riding in a car with his abusive father and elder brother Sid during a snowstorm, being mocked and verbally harassed by them constantly. He is suddenly transported to the Rock of Eternity, a mystic temple located in another dimension.

There, Thaddeus meets the ancient wizard Shazam, who has spent centuries searching for someone pure of heart upon whom to bestow his powers and name as champion after his previous one unleashed the Seven Deadly Sins. Thaddeus is tempted by the Sins, who promise him power if he frees them. The wizard deems Thaddeus unworthy and magically returns him to the car. His frustration and confusion leads to a crash, resulting in his father becoming paraplegic and even more resentful towards him. The Sins send Thaddeus a message via his 8-Ball toy, telling him to find them.

In present-day Fawcett City, Philadelphia, 14-year-old foster child Billy Batson continually runs away from foster homes to search for his birth mother, whom he has been seeking ever since being separated from her at a carnival 10 years ago. He locks some police officers in a store to use their computer to locate her, but is unsuccessful. A social worker places Billy in a group home run by Víctor and Rosa Vásquez. They both had been in the system and have five other foster children: "den mother" Mary Bromfield, shy Pedro Peña, obsessive gamer Eugene Choi, energetic Darla Dudley, and superhero enthusiast Freddy Freeman.

Elsewhere, an embittered Sivana succeeds in his lifelong quest to return to the Rock of Eternity. He becomes the Sins' vessel through a magical orb that replaces one of his eyes, allowing him to easily overpower the wizard. He promptly uses his newfound powers to kill his father, Sid, and Sivana Industries' board of directors. Billy defends Freddy from bullies at school and is pursued into a subway car, where he is transported to the Rock of Eternity. The dying wizard chooses him as his new champion; by saying "Shazam," Billy transforms into an adult superhero. He then vanishes, leaving his magical staff behind.

Freddy is taken into Billy's confidence and helps him explore his newfound powers, which include superhuman strength, near-invulnerability, superspeed, and electrokinesis. By saying "Shazam" again, he can return to his normal body. Freddy posts viral videos of the new superhero, and Billy starts skipping school to use his powers to busk for money and fame. He gets into an argument with Freddy over his irresponsible attitude after accidentally endangering, then saving, a bus full of people.

Sivana arrives and swiftly defeats Billy with his magic, causing him to panic and lose confidence; he escapes only after accidentally discovering that he can fly. He learns his biological mother's location and visits her, only to be heartbroken upon learning she abandoned him at the carnival intentionally after feeling inadequate as a teenage mother and no longer wanting him in her life.

Sivana deduces Billy's identity and takes his foster siblings hostage; Billy agrees to transfer his powers to him in exchange for their safety. They go to the Rock of Eternity to use the wizard's staff to effect the transfer, but the children attack Sivana. Billy observes that Sivana becomes vulnerable when all seven Sins leave his body. Sivana pursues them to a winter carnival and unleashes the Sins upon the crowd. Remembering the wizard's words, Billy uses the staff to share his powers with his foster siblings, transforming them into adult superheroes like him before he breaks the staff in half. The Shazam Family battles against the Sins while Billy faces down Sivana. He goads Envy into leaving Sivana powerless and recaptures the Sins after forcefully pulling the Eye out of Sivana's head. Billy and his foster siblings are hailed as heroes.

Returning the Sins to their prison, they realize they can use the Rock of Eternity as their superhero headquarters. Billy finally accepts his foster parents and siblings as his "real" family. In his superhero form, he has lunch with his siblings at school, revealing to Freddy's surprise that he has also invited Superman.

In a mid-credits scene, the imprisoned Sivana is approached by a talking caterpillar who proposes an alliance. The post-credits scene features a silly banter between Shazam and Freddy.

Cast

• Zachary Levi and Asher Angel as Billy Batson / Shazam: A 14-year-old boy and the superpowered champion of the wizard with whom he shares his name, who possesses "the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury".
  • David Kohlsmith plays the four-year-old Billy.
• Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana: A misanthropic scientist rejected as the wizard's champion for his impure heart, who becomes a host for the Seven Deadly Sins and Shazam's nemesis. Strong previously portrayed Sinestro in the 2011 film Green Lantern, making Shazam! his second appearance in a film based on DC characters.
  • Ethan Pugiotto plays the young Thaddeus.
• Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman: Billy's physically disabled foster brother and a fan of superheroes, who mentors Billy on the use of his newfound powers.
  • Adam Brody plays the character's adult superhero form.
• Djimon Hounsou as Shazam: The last surviving member of the Council of Wizards, who has spent centuries summoning people to his temple, the Rock of Eternity, in search of a "pure of heart" champion to whom he can pass on his extraordinary faculties. Hounsou previously voiced King Ricou of the Fisherman in the DCEU film Aquaman (2018).
• Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley: Billy's good-natured younger foster sister.
  • Meagan Good plays the character's adult superhero form.
• Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield: Billy's mature, academically driven older foster sister.
  • Michelle Borth plays the character's adult superhero form.
• Ian Chen as Eugene Choi: Billy's younger foster brother, an obsessive gamer and techie.
  • Ross Butler plays the character's adult superhero form.
• Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña: Billy's older foster brother, a shy, sensitive boy who has trouble opening up.
  • D. J. Cotrona plays the character's adult superhero form.
• Marta Milans as Rosa Vásquez: The foster mother of Billy and his siblings.
• Cooper Andrews as Víctor Vásquez: The foster father of Billy and his siblings.

The film also features John Glover as Thaddeus Sivana's estranged father and CEO of Sivana Industries. Glover had starred in other DC Comics series and films: Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and Superman: The Animated Series as The Riddler; Dr. Jason Woodrue in the 1997 film Batman and Robin; and Lionel Luthor in Smallville. Natalia Safran was cast as Thaddeus' mother, though her scenes were cut from the film. Caroline Palmer portrays Marilyn Batson, Billy's biological mother. Wayne Ward and Landon Doak portray Sid Sivana, Thaddeus' bullying brother as an adult and a teenager, respectively. Carson MacCormac and Evan Marsh portray Brett and Burke Breyer, bullies at the children's school.