Lots of movies have been impacted by the writer’s strike. Some pictures have been pushed back, and others have been altogether cancelled, most likely the consequence of having been hastily green-lighted in the first place.
One of those movies that could have been a hasty green light, or could actually develop into a decent picture is Shazam, based on the DC comics character Captain Marvel, who was originally an attempt to cash in on the success of Superman. It’s that last part, Captain Marvel’s origins as a cash-in, that had me concerned about the project as a movie adaptation. After all, if the character wasn’t very original to start with, how good could a movie be? To be fair, however, I’ve not read more recent takes on the character since he was taken over by DC Comics, so his stories might be pretty good.
It appears the intent to make a movie based on the character is still going strong, unfazed by the strike. Director Peter Segal, currently putting the finishing touches on this summer’s Get Smart, told Sci-Fi Wire that he thinks the movie will still happen, although there have been some consequences from the strike. ”Timing is going to be a key issue now, because ... normally we'd be working on a script while we're in post-production, so that hopefully when we're done with post-production, we're ready to go into preproduction. But now we're sort of out of sync…”
Segal confirmed the official title for the movie as Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam. Fans know that Billy Batson is the name of the kid who uncovers the lair of the wizard Shazam and is chosen to become the super hero Captain Marvel.
The director doesn’t mention any concerns over the possibility of an actor’s strike in upcoming months, or any mention of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who has been quite vocal about his intended involvement, but does say he doesn’t want to rush the project so that the final result will be as epic in scope (and not in price) as a movie like this deserves.
