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David F. Sandberg Discusses Making Shazam Under Fans’ Expectations

No matter who you are or what your experience, if you’re going to bring to life a character that’s […]

No matter who you are or what your experience, if you’re going to bring to life a character that’s been beloved for decades, you need to prepare for the backlash from fans about what you’ve done wrong in the process. Director of the upcoming Shazam! film for the DC Extended Universe, David F. Sandberg, revealed to Film Riot what his experience has been like when trying to craft a film that will also satisfy fans.

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“It’s going to be interesting, just because of how hardcore the fans are. Like already, if I tweet a little something, suddenly there’s blog posts and arguments,” Sandberg confessed. “And no matter what you do, some people are just going to be disappointed. I get so many tweets about ‘You should do this!’ And then someone else is like ‘No, you should do this!’, which is the complete opposite of that. And it’s like, well okay, one of you guys is going to be disappointed.”

What could inadvertently make matters worse for Sandberg is the admission that he doesn’t have much personal experience with the character, despite doing lots of research.

“It wasn’t a character I grew up with. It was published in Sweden, where I’m from, in the ’70s, so it’s a little before my time. So I only knew him from the Justice League,” Sandberg explained to Moviefone. “It’s not until now that I’m getting into the comics and reading a lot of the old ones, the Geoff Johns ones, The Power of Shazam, and looking at a bunch of animation. So I’m really getting to know the character.”

This past weekend, the director’s latest film, Annabelle: Creation, took the top spot at the box office, which will hopefully satisfy some fans’ expectations of what the filmmaker is capable of.

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There’s no official synopsis for Shazam! or Black Adam, but here’s what Johnson had to say about the latter film over on Instagram:

“One of the most powerful anti-heroes on the planet is coming. And he is coming in hot. Brace yourself for BLACK ADAM! It’s a new dawn.

“Had a very cool and strategic meeting with the heads of DC about their entire universe. As a hard core DC fan, to get a real sense of the tonal shifts and developments coming in these future movies has me fired up. Something we, as DC fans have all been waiting for for a very long time. Hope, optimism & FUN. Even when talking about the the most ruthless villain/anti-hero of all time finally coming to life. Prepare yourselves DC Universe.”