Captain Marvel is one of those superheroes who falls squarely into the doesn’t need to be made into a movie category. Unfortunately, we’ve long since run out of the does need to be made into a movie types, so we’re left with nothing to say except Shazzam!
Variety says Warner Bros. is moving ahead with turning the life of teenager Billy Batson into a big screen adventure, and they’ve hired Pete Segal to direct it as part of a new first-look deal involving another movie which most people do not care about. For those of you who do, that movie is Liam McBain: International Tennis Star and Proper English Geezer.
Pete Segal is the guy behind the camera on such recent movies as Get Smart, The Longest Yard, and 50 First Dates. The guy’s resume is a cavalcade of comedies, action-comedies, and Adam Sandler movies. That makes him perfect for this project, and I’ll tell you why.
Captain Marvel is about a kid (the aforementioned Billy Batson) who when he screams the word "Shazzam", instantly turns into a fully grown, heavily-muscled man in bright red spandex. Sure this man also has superpowers, but this state of affairs is intrinsically funny. Granted it’s not played for laughs in the comics on which this property is being based, but it should be. This is superhero Freaky Friday and odds are since they’ve hired someone like Segal WB plans to approach it that way.
Of course the script is something written by John August, a writer not particularly known for being funny, but with the right casting and a little improve Segal should be able to inject some family-friendly humor. It’s what he does. Maybe he’ll cast Rob Schneider as Captain Marvel. Wait, I said this was supposed to be funny didn’t I? Alright scratch that. Well find someone funny with muscles. Uh oh, smells like The Rock doesn’t it? He’s talked about being involved in this project before, except as the movie’s villain Black Adam. He’s definitely a natural fit in there somewhere, don’t be surprised to see rumors of his involvement resurfacing.
