The DC Extended Universe is known for keeping fans on their toes, and that’s been especially true over the last few months. Peter Safran and James Gunn were recently named co-CEOs, and are making sweeping changes to give the shared universe a more cohesive vision and story. And after Henry Cavill was scrapped as Superman, there have been countless rumors about other established heroes. Shazam’s Zachary Levi recently got frank about the DC shakeups, and rumors about his future as his signature character. Here’s how it all went down.
Zachary Levi stars in the next upcoming DC movie hitting theaters, Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Despite this, there’s been a ton of chatter about whether or not he might be dropped as the direction of the franchise is changed. The stage and screen actor recently addressed this discourse head on via Instagram, saying:
Plenty of you are following the saga that is the restructuring of DC, and our new bosses Peter Safran and James Gunn who are co-chairs and CEOs of DC studios now. And I’ve seen a lot of chatter, I’ve seen a lot of people online saying so many things. And a lot of those things are just blatantly false, or just blatantly wrong takes. And I think a lot of that is also on purpose.
He’s not wrong. There are countless rumors and “reports” surrounding the DC Universe, the majority of which are likely completely false. And Zachary Levi seems to take umbrage with folks out there who are fabricating stories, and making an already complicated time all the more difficult.
Zachary Levi’s Instagram video was originally a live, and was shared with his 1.6 million followers on the social media outlet. He speaks pretty freely about what it’s been like hearing all the DC chatter as one of the franchise’s leading actors. And that includes rumors that he already knows are false.
While speaking directly to the fans, Zachary Levi addressed the changing of leadership at DC. While he seemingly has a good relationship with Walter Hamada, he seems psyched about the pair of filmmakers who are not at the helm of the shared universe. In his words,
Listen, I loved Walter Hamada. I loved him as a boss, I love him as a human being, and I hope to work with him wherever he goes. But I couldn't have hand chosen two better people to be the people that are now helping to guide where the DC Universe is going.
That being said, Zachary Levi also addressed some of the negativity that’s come his way during this uncertain time in the DCEU. That includes reports that his time as the superhero version of Billy Batson might be coming to an end. He addressed that directly, while also reminding everyone that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is just a few months away from its release. As he put it,
Multiple things I’ve said at multiple conventions continue to be taken out of context, because people want to do that. Because they want to stir up bullshit and drama. Well, you can stop that guys. Like I said I have no idea what is going on at the end of the day but I don’t need to. I show up and I do my job. I’m so grateful that I get to be Shazam, I’m so grateful I get to be super Billy Batson. And I will show up and do that as long as I’m given the opportunity to. At this point right now, I'm still that character. I have not had any outgoing conversations with the bosses. We have a movie that's literally coming out in March.
Some serious points were made. With Shazam’s sequel being the next DC movie hitting theaters, it doesn’t make any sense for DC to part ways with Zachary Levi. While he admits that potentially anything could happen in the future, he seems committed to his role and eager to bring us the next chapter in Billy Batson’s story. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out as James Gunn and Peter Safran continue their jobs. As a reminder, you can check out the trailer for Fury of the Gods below,
If Zachary Levi’s Shazam sticks around the DCEU, then we could potentially see him finally crossover with other heroes. Following the disappointing performance of Justice League’s theatrical cut, the shared universe largely stepped away from serialized storytelling. But it sounds like that’s exactly what the new leadership is focusing on now.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will hit theaters on March 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theater in the New Year. And smart money says that we’ll be getting more wild updates from the studio as we get closer to the release of Zachary Levi’s sequel.
