After decades of appearing in comics, TV shows, video games and even a few film serials from way back when, Shazam, formerly known as Captain Marvel, is finally making his full-length theatrical debut. The Shazam movie has made remarkable progress over the last year, and principal photography is scheduled to begin next month. In anticipation of the cameras gearing up to roll, Warner Bros has announced that Shazam will drop in theaters on April 5, 2019.
If that date sounds familiar to you, it's because back in late 2014 when Warner Bros announced its initial slate of DC Extended Universe, that's the spot Shazam was placed on the schedule. However, a lot has changed with the DCEU in the years since, and for a while it was unclear if Shazam would still make that date, although DC and Warner Bros held onto that spot in case they wanted to release a different DC Comics movie then. Director David. F Sandberg noted back in October that Shazam would likely be ready for April 2019, but now Warner Bros has made the scheduling official (via THR). No other movies are scheduled for that opening weekend yet, though some of the other notable April 2019 releases include The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, a third Planes movie from Disney and Pet Sematary.
Ever since Man of Steel launched the DCEU in 2013, the movies in this franchise have mostly been summer releases, with Justice League being the sole exception thus far with its November premiere. However, to the next immediate DCEU movies, both Shazam and Aquaman are helping build a presence for this franchise outside of the summer season, with Aquaman diving into theaters on December 21. In Shazam's case, though, April isn't traditionally a month when a lot of blockbusters are released, though there have been exceptions in recent years, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 and The Fate of the Furious last year. Since Shazam/Captain Marvel isn't a superhero that the general public is familiar with, perhaps it will have better luck by dropping a little earlier in the year rather than face fierce competition in May, June, July or even August.
No official Shazam plot details have been revealed yet, but the movie is expected to show how and why Billy Batson was chosen to become the World's Mightiest Mortal. The movie's main cast includes Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Grace Fulton, Jack Dylan Grazer, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews and Faithe Herman, with Mark Strong in talks to play Doctor Sivana, the main antagonist.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more important updates concerning Shazam as they come in. You can also browse through our DC movies guide to see what other projects this franchise has coming up.
