Is Derek Theler Going To Be The New Shazam?

09/08/2017 05:56 pm EDT

As production draws closer on Warner Bros.' Shazam!, director David Sandberg is not the only one who seems to be posting about it daily on social media. Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe's Derek Theler is pretty prolific, too, and some fans are convinced that he is the odds-on favorite to play Earth's Mightiest Mortal.

Twitter user ReelFada has assembled a laundry list of social media posts which, taken on their own, may not amount to much but together certainly seem like a mountain of circumstantial evidence that Theler and Sandberg are on the cusp of working together.

It starts with an Instagram story post made earlier today, in which Theler photographed his own shadow and superimposed a lightning bolt onto the chest. There are also a number of screen captures showing follows back and forth between Theler, Sandberg, and DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns on Twitter and Instagram. Indeed, most of Theler's most recent follows are DC-related, with Ben Affleck, Stephen Amell, Margot Robbie and Emily Bett Rickards among them.

Theler has also taken time out to share fan art of himself in the Shazam! costume, saying that the character is a longtime favorite of his, and photos of himself with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who will play Black Adam in the DC Extended Universe.

In Ninjak vs. the Marvel Universe, Theler plays X-O Manowar, a visigoth warrior who was abducted by aliens and escaped by stealing their most powerful weapon: a suit of armor that possessed a wide variety of powers. Upon returning to Earth, he discovers that hundreds of years have passed and he ends up as a superhero in the present day.

He will also play Immortal Man, a former member of the Great Lakes Avengers in the comics, on Marvel's upcoming superhero sitcom New Warriors.

While the most recent purported shortlist for Shazam does not include Theler, there has been persistent rumors and speculation for a while that he could end up in the role of the Big Red Cheese. Assembling a mountain of circumstantial evidence proves little, but certianly seems to indicate there is more than just wishful thinking going on.

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