Shazam’s Zachary Levi Open to Playing a Second, Darker DC Character

Zachary Levi, the star of Shazam!, the latest addition to the DC Extended Universe, recently stopped by Germany's CCXP Cologne convention. During his visit, the actor was asked if he'd be interested in playing a villain within the DC franchise, and it sounds like the actor would be up for the challenge.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Look, if DC came to me and said, 'Hey Zach, we'd love to be in business with you, would you like to play any of the characters in our catalog?' My answer would be 'Yes, please, thank you.' I mean, there's some that I would like to play more, I suppose because I think they're more dynamic characters, but yeah, I would love to play some dark, brooding [character]," he replied.

"There's a reason why Batman is one of the most successful characters. In fact, from a TV and film standpoint, Batman is far more successful than Superman, right? Although Superman is a far more popular character in the annals of history, so why is that? Think about it. Superman — and by the way, I love Superman — Superman is the ultimate boy scout. Superman is like tried and true, he's always gonna choose right, and I love that because Chuck and Shazam are kind of similar in that regard, I love that about Superman. But for the world we live in, and all of the things we kind of hold up and value and whatever, I mean, Batman's way sexier. Batman's like, he's got issues [laughs]."

Levi added, "Yes, I'd love to do all of that."

This isn't the first time Levi has addressed playing other characters within the wide world of DC. The actor also said he'd enjoy playing Black Adam (if The Rock backs out, of course).

Shazam! is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an impressive 91% rating. ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis praised the film in his spoiler-free review, saying the film is unlike most of the superhero movies that have been released in recent years.

Shazam! stars Zachary Levi in the titular role with Asher Angel playing his younger counterpart, Billy Batson. The film also features Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Mark Strong as the villainous Dr. Sivana, Djimon Hounsou as The Wizard, along with Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, Ian Choi, Faithe Herman, Jovan Armand, and Grace Fulton.

Shazam! is now available for home viewing. Other upcoming DC films include Joker on October 10th, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, and Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020.