Shazam!!

Posted by Barrett in Latest News, Movies on November 10th, 2009

The next superhero flick on its way out of the hell that is script development appears to be DC Comic’s Shazam!

Over at CineFOOLS they managed to get an interview with Shazam co-writer Bill Birch who was kind enough to give some information on the film.  Apparently the superhero has had several scripts written, but Birch and Geoff Johns, his co-writer, have decided to start fresh and come up with something new.

Birch’s focus is going into maintaining the right tone for the movie.  He is very interested in balancing comedy and tension and he expects the film to be “not as ‘dark’ as Dark Knight but definitely as cool,” and says it will “probably end up with a PG-13 rating.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the basic lore of Shazam, it tells the story of Billy Batson, a young boy who becomes a superhero by shouting ‘Shazam!’ and getting the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.

Birch also addressed some of the casting rumors surrounding the film.  Peter Segal is attached to direct, but when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was mentioned Birch said:

“My rule of thumb is that no actor is committed to do a movie until the first day of shooting is over with. (And sometimes even then the cast can still change) I know that Pete Segal and Dwayne have a relationship that was solidified when Pete directed Get Smart. As far as him being committed? I’m sure it’ll all depend on the script. That being the case I don’t write with anyone in mind. If the characters are solid it will attract good talent and then there will always be a rewrite to address the talent’s concerns. Usually at that point in the process is when you start writing for that specific actor. More than likely the role of Billy Batson will be an unknown but the role of Cpt Marvel? I always thought Ryan Reynolds would have been interesting but now that he’s Green Lantern that’s not an option. Honestly I don’t think too much about it since I have very little say in the casting decisions.”

I can’t quite get a good read on this movie yet. Tip-toeing the line between dark movies and purely comedic movies can be difficult to pull off and so I am a little worried, yet excited at the same time.