‘Shazam!’ Director Says the Movie Is Very Stand-Alone Within the DCEU

Though Shazam! is a part of the interconnect big screen universe of DC Comics, it will be mostly independent of the other heroes sharing its world.

Following the lead of Aquaman director James Wan, David F. Sandberg elected to steer clear of involving any of the other DC Comics heroes in his film. This movie won’t be a story about Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or Aquaman. Instead, it will be focused on its titular hero.

“Well this movie’s mostly just about introducing Billy Batson and Shazam and who he is, how he came to be,” Sandberg told Comicbook.com on the film’s set. “It takes place in this DC world where all these heroes exist, but in some ways it’s both sort of self contained while also being a part of something bigger, but, yeah. That’s a non-answer.”

More specifically, Sandberg admits, “it’s very standalone.” Of course, there is the possibility of other heroes popping into the film for cameos, such as Superman with actor Henry Cavill reprising the role which was long rumored. “You don’t have to have seen any of the other films, because it’s its own contained story,” Sandberg adds. “It is more the world of it that’s part of a story.”

Recently, Warner Bros. revealed their focus has shifted away from Marvel’s shared universe format and focus more heavily independent and standalone outings. This is likely influenced by the massive success of film’s such as Wonder Woman and Aquaman, both of which were praised critically and chalked up wins at the box office.

“We all feel like we’ve turned a corner now. We’re playing by the DC playbook, which is very different than the Marvel playbook,” Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said to the Hollywood Reporter. “We are far less focused on a shared universe. We take it one movie at a time. Each movie is its own equation and own creative entity. If you had to say one thing about us, it’s that it always has to be about the directors.”

Would you like to see the DC Comics heroes continuing to crossover on the big screen or are you enjoying the standalone efforts based on one hero at a time? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Aquaman is now playing in theaters. The Shazam! movie is set to released in theaters on April 5.