This goes without saying, but comic book movie fans can be persnickety at times. We are hypercritical and meticulously scrutinizing and demand that cinematic adaptations live up to our expectations. Occasionally, the fans have even been known to jump the gun, just a bit. So when an unintended leak gave us our first glimpse at Zachary Levi's Shazam!, fans were quick to jump on what appeared to be a padded muscle suit. Well, Zachary Levi responded to those comments in a brilliant way, letting fans know just how fake those muscles were. Take a look.
Clearly, this is a much more muscle-bound Zachary Levi than the ones fans got to know on Chuck years ago. Sure, there may wind up being some padding and post-production magic in Shazam! to make the actor look like he truly has the strength of Hercules, but it is clear that Zachary Levi is doing his part to achieve that super heroic look. In response to a Twitter post showing him flexing, Zachary Levi also riffs on everyone's claim of fake muscles, alluding to all the work he is putting in to achieve the physique necessary for the role. The diet for these superhero roles can't be fun so it's nice for Zachary Levi to be able to show off his results and throw it in the faces of those decrying a set photo as if its somehow representative of the film.
Costume controversies arise from time time, but those sorts of things are often disproven in the final film. Plus, Zachary Levi is a naturally lanky dude, and it's not as if just wanting to be buff enough will make it happen; it actually takes a lot of work. He was officially cast in late October of last year and filming started at the end of January. That's three months. Everyone's body is different, but putting on 30 pounds of muscle in that time to look like he's drawn in the comics is basically impossible. The alternative would have been casting a bodybuilder or athlete, putting effects over acting. What is clear though is that Zachary Levi has made significant strides towards achieving a superhero physique and the closer he gets the less movie magic will be required.
We've now got the first look at the official logo of Shazam! but we're still waiting for a proper look at Zachary Levi in costume. Shazam! is the next film out of the gate for DC after this year's Aquaman, and we are also still waiting for the first trailer for that flick. Shazam is an exciting and fun character that could really mark a tonal shift for DC and do for that universe what Guardians of the Galaxy has done for Marvel and we can't wait to see what David F. Sandberg has in store for us. Shazam! thunders into theaters on April 5, 2019. Check out our guide to see all of the upcoming entries in the DC movie universe.
