As was made perfectly clear yesterday with our first look at Asher Angel's Billy Batson, Shazam! takes place within the DC Extended Universe. Billy may be gaining superpowers soon, but that world is already familiar with the exploits of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and other crimefighters. From what we've learned so far about Shazam!, it will be a self-contained feature, and there hasn't been any word on if any Justice League heroes will cameo in the World's Mightiest Mortal's cinematic debut. That being said, Shazam is being primed to be an important player in the DCEU, and Shazam! producer Peter Safran has acknowledged that there's a good chance that the hero could appear alongside the other Justice Leaguers in future movies. When asked if Shazam could show up in a Justice League sequel, Safran responded:
I wouldn't be surprised to see Shazam play a role in the DCU. He exists in that world.
The Justice League movie may have underwhelmed critically and commercially in theaters, but the team itself is sticking around in the DCEU, and just like in the comics, its membership will almost certainly expand (which was acknowledged when Diana noted to Bruce that there would be "room for more" at the meeting table). Shazam, previously known as Captain Marvel, has worked alongside the Justice League numerous times since he and his supporting cast were added to the DC Comics universe. This includes him being a member of the Justice League International in the 1980s and joining the main Justice League team during Geoff Johns' New 52 run. So while nothing is set in stone yet, Peter Safran's comments to EW indicate that Shazam might get to team up with other DCEU heavy hitter at some point. I'd be especially glad to see Shazam fighting alongside Superman.
If Justice League 2 gets off the ground, maybe Shazam could be one of the new recruits. The prospect of this excited Zachary Levi, who's playing Shazam on the big screen. When Levi was heading to his final auditions for the role last year, he passed by some Justice League billboards and started wondering about the possibility. As Levi put it:
I would lose my shit if that happened, I would lose all of the shits. I remember thinking, 'If I get this and if this movie does well enough and if Justice League does well enough and they make another Justice League ... maybe I'll be on that next poster with all those guys.'
For now, though, it looks like Billy Batson will embark on his superhero journey without any Justice Leaguers to assist him. After meeting the mysterious Wizard, Billy is able to transform into a mighty superhero by saying the word, "Shazam!", giving him powers like super strength, flight and conjuring lightning. But the lad won't have long to get the hang of these abilities, as he'll soon have to use them to fight the forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
Shazam! hits theaters on April 5, 2019, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates about the superhero blockbuster.
