When Shazam! premieres in theaters later this year, fans will get their first look at a brand new villain in the DC Comics universe with Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
It will be actor Mark Strong‘s second round as a major villain in the DC Universe, as he previously played Sinestro in the poorly received Green Lantern movie. But now he’ll be even more evil as he attempts to beat up a child who has been bestowed the magical powers of Shazam!
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Strong spoke about his role in the film while ComicBook.com was visiting the set of Shazam!, when he spoke about his character’s confusion about why the Wizard would bestow young Billy Batson with magical abilities.
“He can’t understand it. You know, he can’t understand that the Wizard has chosen this boy as his champion,” said Strong. “Yet, the Wizard’s chosen a boy, and he realizes that obviously that boy manifests his self into the man, the Zachary [Levi] version of Shazam, and to him, it’s a source of total incomprehension, why this boy should have been chosen over him. It just justifies him in his quest to unify the good force and the evil force, and be in control of all of it.”
It sounds like Strong’s character, a doctor rooted in the works of science, will be attempting to figure out and master the forces of magic. Strong previously spoke about his character’s role while speaking to Celebretainment.
“I’m playing an evil bastard called Doctor Sivana, they are always the best characters to play, the most fun,” said Strong. “I was Sinestro in Green Lantern, which I though was a rather good film, but it didn’t do what they wanted. So I feel like I’ve got unfinished business in the DC world. I played a pretty evil character in that, and he was meant to get even worse in the second one but that never happened, but I think I’m going to get the chance to do that in Shazam!, I hope so.”
“I’ve always been drawn to characters with big hearts, or they’re drawn to me,” Levi told USA Today. “At some point, we all thought, ‘If I just believe hard enough, then I can fly or run across the water or read somebody’s thoughts.’ This is a kid getting to live out those dreams. It’s a tale as old as time but of all the superhero movies, it has yet to be told.”
Shazam! premieres in theaters on April 5th.
