'Shazam!': Why A Certain DC Comics Run is Influencing So Many Movies

With Shazam! having hit theaters to a successful box office haul, many DC Comics fans have witnessed the thorough shades of the New 52 Justice League comics packed into the film. Much of Shazam!'s big screen origin story is consistent with that of the Goeff Johns book, which is an interesting narrative seeing as both Aquaman and Wonder Woman were influenced by their respective New 52 runs, as well.

According to Shazam! and Aquaman producer Peter Safran, the New 52 books lend themselves to film adaptations better than some other comic runs do, especially considering the studio's current goals.

"I think that they're really good stories," Safran told ComicBook.com. "I think that Geoff Johns and his fellow writers put a ton of thought into how they were going to basically re-establish these characters and give them a new lease on life in certain cases. I think that Geoff's a super bright guy. I'm not surprised that we've lent on those stories to be our spines or our frameworks, because he's got a great idea of how to tell a compelling story."

Many moments seem to be ripped straight from the pages of New 52 comics, which is no coincidence. "We use that as a starting point, and obviously made the changes that we thought were necessary to translate it from the page to the screen," Safran added. "So there were elements we kept and elements that we left, but just generally speaking, I think that Geoff did a great job establishing or re-establishing these properties."

Shazam! took risks, many of which paid off, and the result was a positive response from critics and fans alike. One of the most memorable sequences was Billy Batson as Shazam! testing his powers with his pal Freddy Freeman. Set to the tune of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," the sequence offered up side-splitting laughs and fans might expect more of them when the film arrives on blu-ray or DVD.

"We shot so many different versions of Freddy and Shazam testing out the newfound powers. We just couldn't stop, because they were so funny," Safran said. "There were way too many. We knew we'd never use them all, but they were really fun to shoot. Whenever you had Zach [Levi] and Jack Dylan Grazer together, you just wanted to let them go and just let them rip. We shot a lot of that that I suspect people will see at some point. Maybe there are a couple other things that we shot as well, maybe some stuff at the carnival, that you end up having to cut for time and also just for pacing and for story."

What was your favorite moment from Shazam!? Are you happy to see the New 52 comics being brought to live-action life? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Shazam! is now playing in theaters.