Zachary Levi is Open to Returning to James Gunn’s DCU for Shazam 3
When Zachary Levi’s Shazam! took place in 2019, it exceeded everyone’s expectations. The film was a huge box office success, grossing $367 million worldwide and spawning a second movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. However, it came during DC’s transition from Zack Snyder to James Gunn and Peter Safron, and DC was going through a lot of changes. This movie got caught in the chaos and did not do as well as its predecessor, grossing only $133.8 million worldwide against a budget of $125 million. It was termed a box office bomb.
Ever since James Gunn took the helm of DC, he has made major changes to revamp the universe. One of the biggest ones was replacing Henry Cavill as Superman. Zachary Levi’s future in the franchise as Shazam is still up for discussion. However, he did say that he’d love to return to the character if given a chance.
Zachary Levi wants to return to James Gunn’s DCU
While talking to ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, Zachary Levi opened up about how he wants to play more iterations of his character in Shazam! and how he is open to collaboration with Green Lantern:
“I would love to be able to do more iterations of it [Shazam!]. I would love to collaborate with Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern.”
He also proclaimed his love for both of the Shazam! movies, saying that even though the second film flopped, he found it better than the first one in many aspects:
“I’m really proud of both films. I really think the second film was, in some respects, better than the first. And the first was really good. I’m really proud of both of them.”
He was then asked if he would be interested in playing another DC character since Shazam! might not be on the cards for a long time. He expressed his confusion, saying he does not know if it is possible. He was then reminded by the interviewer that Sean Gunn will be playing Maxwell Lord in the upcoming DC, and he played Weasel and Calendar Man in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. To this, Zachary Levi pitched in a smart quip, saying that:
“Listen, when you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play who you want.”
While the comment may have been made in pure jest, many were quick to criticize Levi for his comments. The fans thought the reason behind such a comment might be his uncertain fate as Shazam in the franchise. Although he wants to reprise his role in DC, his subsequent comments, basically accusing James Gunn of nepotism, might do more harm than good for his cause.
Zachary Levi responds to the comments of Billy Batson from Shazam! 2 being immature
While talking about his new movie, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, with ScreenRant, Zachary Levi defended the immaturity of Billy Batson, saying there is solid reasoning behind the character’s shift in seriousness from the first movie:
“From the first movie to the second, I tried to age him as Billy ages, you know, in his actual younger teen form. Inside, he’s aging too. Obviously, in the first film, he was like 15, and in the second he’s 17ish, almost 18. So I tried to address that and bring that into the character, which ironically, in some ways, kind of made him feel almost a little more immature. But that’s because when he’s 15, he’s not trying to be cool guy, when he’s 17, he’s trying to be cool guy, he’s trying to be the leader, and he’s trying to kind of put on that bravado more.”
Also Read: Zachary Levi Branded the “Most immature man working in Hollywood” after James Gunn Comment
The events surrounding Billy Batson in the first movie were quite serious, as he was trying to find his biological mother while trying to adjust to his adoptive family. In the second movie, he was much more settled and comfortable, so his fun persona came out. After all, he is just a teenager, and teenagers often do stupid things trying to portray themselves as cool, as Levi said. So, it was quite an authentic portrayal of Batson in the movie.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is available on Netflix.
