It sounds like the director of DC’s upcoming Shazam! movie is going to forgo one of the latest trends in movie making technology for a more traditional approach.
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David F. Sandberg will be charting the adventures of Billy Batson as he becomes, or maybe even swaps places with, the magical champion comics fans know as Captain Marvel. And he’ll have to look for two different actors for the role.
While speaking with Collider about his new film Annabelle: Creation, Sandberg revealed that he didn’t want to use CG to de-age an actor and keep their likeness for the role of Billy.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to do that, Sandberg said. “That seems like way too much of a hassle. So I think it’s just kind of best to have a kid and an adult.”
That confirms the casting plan for two different actors to play the lead character. Seems kind of obvious with a project like this, but you never know!
Sandberg addressed the recent trend in movies, but reiterated that it would likely be difficult to de-age an actor to the degree required for Shazam!
“Yeah and they’ve done quite well, I mean Kurt Russell was in the latest Guardians [of the Galaxy] was really well made I thought, but I think there’s a limit to it as well,” Sandberg said. “You probably can’t do someone to be a kid. Why create that hassle for yourself?”
Something like that might come down to studio decree, but it sounds like Sandberg has no intention of making the shoot more difficult than it has to be.
While we’re not sure when Shazam! will begin filming, Sandberg said that he’s diving right into pre-production on the film with Annabelle: Creation now in theaters. He even hinted that a shooting date could come soon.
The original announcement of the film from Warner Bros. pegged it with an April 5, 2019 release date, and it could realistically still make that premiere.
Hopefully we learn more about Shazam! in the coming weeks.
