'Shazam!' Director Trolls Fans Over Costume Change

Shazam! director David F. Sandberg loves to have fun with fans in the form a little bit of [...]

Shazam! director David F. Sandberg loves to have fun with fans in the form a little bit of lighthearted trolling and now he's at it again -- this time about Shazam's costume.

When asked by a fan on Twitter if the hero's costume would change at all during the upcoming film, Sandberg "confirmed" that it would, but only because of the popularity of another DC film -- Aquaman.

"Yeah, sometimes he wears Aquaman's suit," Sandberg wrote. "It was a late addition but after seeing the Chinese box office numbers it was the right thing to do."

While the idea of Billy Batson donning Aquaman's duds is a hilarious one that might actually make for a great Easter egg of sorts in Shazam!, what's more realistic is that Sandberg is teasing fans while also acknowledging the early success of Aquaman. The Jason Momoa-starring film has already made $107.6 million in China, besting Justice League's entire Chinese box office take in a mere four days and boasting the biggest Chinese opening for any WB and DC film in history.

As for the actual costumes in Shazam!, the heroic suit has been a topic of conversation for months, particularly in terms of star Zachary Levi's physical fitness. Fans have claimed that Levi's Shazam suit was lined with padding to make him look more muscular as the hero. It's a claim that Levi has addressed, directly refuting the idea that Shazam's muscles -- and, um, backside -- are anything but his own.

"Does it look fake to you? Come on!" Levi joked to Variety in reference to his "gluteus maximus".

Levi, who was working out and getting into superhero shape for his role by the time Justice League was released last November, has refuted the fake muscles claims before, but he's also making sure to encourage body acceptance and positivity for everyone -- no matter what.

"I just feel like we're in a place, particularly nowadays, where people need to be encouraged and informed on what self-love is, and to go and genuinely embrace themselves and loves themselves, so I'm really happy about all of that," Levi said.

The DCEU continues on the big screen with Aquaman on December 21, Shazam! on April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 2 on June 5, 2020.

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