Shazam will exist in the same big screen universe as Batman and Superman… and it’s been seemingly confirmed by the folks at DC.
It wasn’t long ago that Shazam was announced as part of the Warner Bros. upcoming DC line-up. But while comic book fans were no doubt pleased to see this fan favourite appear on the big screen, many wondered whether he could really tie into the grittier, more realistic DC movies.
But now the folks behind the film reveal that Shazam is part of the wider DC universe.
According to an official DC blog post, the films revealed in the recent DC slate announcement will all be part of the same on-screen universe… and that includes Shazam.
“There were rumors of some sort of film slate, mentions that Warner Bros. had ‘big plans’ for DC Entertainment and occasional informal announcements,” they explained. “But for fans who were hoping to see a DC Cinematic Universe similar to what they’ve seen from other publishers, one that included super heroes other than Superman or Batman, there didn’t seem to be a lot to talk about.”
“That changed on October 15, 2014,” they added. “Warner Bros. revealed a full slate of ten DC Entertainment feature films all set within the same universe.”
Of course, the key piece of information here is that they are all set in the same universe. Absolutely all of the films announced will be part of the same franchise. And that means Shazam is among them.
But what about rumours that Shazam was entirely separate?
Well, it all came about due to recent comments by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who spoke about the upcoming movie via Twitter.
“I guaran-damn-tee we’re gonna have bad ass fun with Black Adam,” he said. “(Its a NL/DC property). #Independence.”
Obviously, his comments seem to have been taken slightly out of context. But I can’t help thinking that independence is the name of the game, here. If you ask me, it’s likely that the upcoming Shazam movie will retain some independence from the wider DC universe at first in much the same way that Guardians of the Galaxy is separate from Avengers.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t share some connective tissue.
Will Shazam eventually appear in other DC movies? I’d certainly expect so. But perhaps WB and DC will concentrate on establishing this character’s universe first.
Do you think Shazam will be a success? Will he make an appearance in other DC movies? Let us know what you think in the comments below…