'Shazam!': How the DCEU Influences the Movie Revealed

While there's been chatter of Warner Bros. cooling down on their DC Comics shared universe of movies, it sounds like Shazam! did not get the memo. The first trailer for the upcoming movie revels in what came before, referencing events from Justice League, Batman v Superman, and Man of Steel.

Director David F. Sandberg and the cast of Shazam! came to the ComicBook.com studio at San Diego Comic-Con to talk about how the movie is influences by the other superheroes in the DC Films universe. While there, Freedie Freeman actor Jack Dylan Grazer teased an easter egg in the trailer, showing a bullet that was deflected off of Superman and a certificate of authenticity. Check it out in the clip above!

"Well they're all still existent in that universe, so Freddie Freeman does in fact idolize all of those superheroes," said Grazer. "Like Superman, Batman, the whole Justice League... and I know all about them."

It sounds like Shazam! will still be a self-contained movie, even though it will have lots of references to the greater universe in which it takes place. But while Wonder Woman remained firmly in the past, Shazam! takes place in the aftermath of Zod's and Steppenwolf's attacks on Earth — and Freddie's memorabilia shows that fact.

If Shazam! becomes the success that filmmakers and Warner Bros. executives hope it will be, there's a good chance that we will see the continued adventures of Billy Batson and possibly even a team up with the Justice League.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see Shazam play a role in the DCU," producer Peter Safran told Entertainment Weekly. "He exists in that world."

When asked if Levi would be open to the possibility of participating in a future film with other DC superheroes, the actor who plays Shazam was excited about the prospect.

"I would lose my sh*t if that happened, I would lose all of the sh*ts," said Levi. "I remember thinking, 'If I get this and if this movie does well enough and if Justice League does well enough and they make another Justice League … maybe I'll be on that next poster with all those guys."

There might even be another cameo from someone fans know and love, according to some rumors, though we'll have to wait until the movie actually premieres next year to find out.

Shazam! premieres in theaters on April 5, 2019.