‘Shazam!’ Movie Will Be Based on Geoff Johns’ New 52 Run

It may be almost a year until Shazam! arrives on the big screen, but we now know one DC Comics run that the film is inspired by.

Today, it was announced that Geoff Johns would be stepping down as DC’s Chief Creative Officer, and will instead be operating in a more creative role within DC and Warner Bros. In the official statement about Johns’ new role, it was confirmed that he will have a behind-the-scenes role in Shazam!, which is “based on his original graphic novel”.

For the uninitiated, Johns and Gary Frank essentially reintroduced Billy Batson/Shazam! within the New 52 continuity, in a backup story that appeared in several issues of Justice League. The miniseries painted Billy as a somewhat-troubled child, whose life within a new foster family, is turned upside down when he is given his powers. The run also gave Billy a pretty formidable foe to fight, as Dr. Sivana unlocked the tomb of Black Adam, and began to track down the Seven Deadly Sins.

It’s safe to assume that the film won’t be a completely direct adaptation of Johns’ Shazam! miniseries. While the film will see Billy face off against Sivana (played by Mark Strong), and could include the Seven Deadly Sins, previous reports have seemed to hint that Black Adam (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) wouldn’t have a role.

“The Rock has been cast as Black Adam, but he’s not going to be featured in this film,” director David F. Sandberg said last year. “There’ve been variations of the script like before I came along where Black Adam was in and out and, you know. But now, this is about Shazam.”

And as Sandberg went on to confirm last December, one major facet of the New 52 run won’t transfer over to the movie — Billy being “a huge dickhead.” So while it sounds like the film will definitely be borrowing elements from Johns’ run, fans will have to wait and see exactly what that entails.

Shazam! will star Asher Angel and Zachary Levi, who will play the child and adult versions of Billy Batson. In addition, the cast will include Strong, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena, Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans as Victor and Rosa Vasquez, and Ron Cephas Jones as The Wizard.

What do you think of Shazam!‘s source material? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Shazam! will fly into theaters on April 5, 2019.