'Shazam!' Director Confirms Release Date

Fans have been patiently waiting for Justice League to hit theaters, but after that film's [...]

Fans have been patiently waiting for Justice League to hit theaters, but after that film's release, there's plenty more DC Comics movies on the way, including one based on Shazam!. The director of that film, David F. Sandberg, recently took to Reddit to reveal that he aims for an April 2019 release.

In a discussion about his most recent film, Annabelle: Creation, a fan asked about the DC film, to which Sandberg replied, "April 2019. It takes a long time to make vfx heavy movies."

The director's last two films, Creation and Lights Out, were horror films that used practical effects to scare their viewers more than reliance on CGI. The director confirmed that the inherent nature of any superhero film requires much more visual effects, to which the filmmaker would have to adapt his filmmaking styles.

Sandberg isn't the only director to go from horror to superheroes, as director Scott Derrickson, whose previous films include Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Deliver Us From Evil, had a huge success last year with Doctor Strange. Additionally, Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn, Thor: Ragnarok's Taika Waititi and Man of Steel's Zack Snyder all have horror films in their filmography.

Earlier this summer, Sandberg admitted that he wasn't too aware of the character growing up, but has put in plenty of time to research and make sure he appeases devout fans.

"It's going to be interesting, just because of how hardcore the fans are. Like already, if I tweet a little something, suddenly there's blog posts and arguments," Sandberg confessed to Film Riot. "And no matter what you do, some people are just going to be disappointed. I get so many tweets about 'You should do this!' And then someone else is like 'No, you should do this!', which is the complete opposite of that. And it's like, well okay, one of you guys is going to be disappointed."

In the months since then, the director has been taking to social media to share playful updates about the film's progress, building anticipation for the fan-favorite character.

[H/T Reddit]

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