We were reporting rumors early this year that the Captain Marvel movie Shazam! was over, based on screenwriter John August's reports that the project was dead. When the movie's producer mentioned that the project probably wasn't as dead as it seemed, it was fair to assume that a new writer was taking over from now on.

And indeed he is. Bill Birch has signed on to write the film, according to Variety, with Get Smart director Peter Segal still on board as well. Apparently the idea is to go back to the original comic for inspiration with this new script, which makes me worry a bit about what they had going on before. Isn't the whole point of a comic book adaptation, especially for a character no one has heard of, to go off an existing property?

Either way, it's nice to know that the rumors about Captain Marvel being made more like a brooding, Dark Knight figure will probably turn out to be false. Shiny heroes like Iron Man are what's needed these days, and here's hoping Bill Birch can bring the goods.