The first trailer for next year’s Shazam! has arrived at SDCC and it looks like it could be just what the Worlds of DC film universe needs.
If you were to ask 100 superhero movie fans to use one word to describe the DC Extended Universe (now known as the Worlds of DC) you can bet money most would say “dark.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Suicide Squad. Justice League. All considered dark and melancholy and just not very much fun.
Even Man of Steel, staring the most un-gritty superhero of all time, was considered too dark by many fans. Sure, Wonder Woman wasn’t necessarily dark and brooding, but it wasn’t exactly a lighthearted affair either. Even Aquaman, from what we’ve seen in the just released first trailer, doesn’t look like it’s going to have people laughing in the aisles.
That may change with the upcoming Shazam! movie.
Most people weren’t sure what to expect from the big screen adaption of the former character called Captain Marvel. Directed by David F. Sandberg and starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel and Djimon Hounsou, Shazam! was described as something almost along the lines of a comedy, something modern superhero films haven’t been known for.
Saturday at the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con International, the first trailer for the film was screened for the crowd and to the surprise of just about everybody, it’s pretty awesome.
Aside from the fact the the costume, which was a big source of debate from the moment it was first revealed, works incredibly well, the movie is just flat out funny. It is a massive departure from the tone the DCEU had been establishing prior to Justice League and shows that maybe there’s hope for this shared universe after all.
Watching Billy Batson go through the motions, figuring out what exactly he can do with his new powers is just a delight. And the comedy is a welcome change that is long overdue. Superhero movies in general have gotten to a point where they have been taking themselves a bit too seriously. I for one am thrilled to see that in Shazam! we may finally get a movie that is more fun than epic.
Much like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Shazam! is not exactly what you would call a household name. But if Marvel has shown us anything it’s that with a great story and the right team, any superhero can be a hit.
With Shazam!, DC and Warner Bros. might give us a hero we may not need, but one they’ll surely want to see more of.
More Movies: SDCC 2018: First Trailer For Aquaman Is Finally Here
Shazam! arrives in theaters everywhere on April 5, 2019. For more coverage of DC’s upcoming films and SDCC as it happens, keep it here on Fantinuum.
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