The marketing for DC’s Shazam! has been very careful about how many story details it reveals – meaning just about any of the usual insights about the villain and conflict of this superhero origin tale. Still, knowledge of the Shazam! mythology and cast has led longtime fans to make some important insights about the film’s ties to DC Comics lore – and now we’re getting confirmation of some additional hero and villain characters that will be showing up in the movie!
Videos by ComicBook.com
After an initial SPOILER via toy merchandise, we now have an even better look at the “Shazam Family,” thanks to these new toys released by Monogram International:
#Shazam blind bag collection coming soon! Don’t miss the new Shazam! movie, hitting theaters April 5th! pic.twitter.com/98GJxLKwWt
โ Monogram Intl (@MonogramDirect) February 14, 2019
That lineup of dolls includes the following characters:
- Shazam (Zachary Levi)
- Mary (Grace Fulton)
- Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer)
- Pedro (Jovan Armand)
- Eugene (Ian Chen)
- Darla (Faithe Herman)
Each of those characters first appears in the film as one of Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) foster siblings, before getting a piece of Shazam’s magic power to become superheroes in their own right. This aspect of the character’s mythos goes all the way back to the days when “Shazam” was still DC’s “Captain Marvel” and his power-up friends were the “Marvel Family.” When DC Comics rebooted in 2011 with the “New 52” initiative, the character’s name and backstory were heavily retconned, with part of those changes involving this Shazam Family. Billy’s foster family was changed to be a heavily diverse collection of kids, making their superpowered counterparts equally diverse.
The other reveal in the photo are two monsters from the group of demons known as “The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man”. The demons represent the Seven Deadly Sins, as you can probably tell from the names “Pride” and “Wrat” (though the latter should be “Wrath”). In DC Comics, The Seven Deadly Enemeies of Man are imprisoned in the Rock of Eternity, where Billy Batson first meets the ancient wizard who transforms him into Shazam. If you look in the first Shazam! trailers, you’ll see the early foreshadow of the Seven Deadly Sins, in the scene where Billy first meets The Wizard.
It’s not hard to see the Shazam! movie using the comic mythology where Mark Strong’s Dr. Sivana was once a candidate to be Shazam, and still retains a part of that magic. Sivana could somehow gain access to the Rock of Eternity through Billy Batson/Shazam, and the movie’s third act being Sivana releasing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man from their prison. They are basically a supervillain team counterpart to Billy and the Shazam Family, which provide the necessary spectacle for Shazam!‘s climatic battle.
The DC Movie Universe continues with Aquaman, in theaters now. Shazam hits theaters on April 5th, Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey on February 7th, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, 2020, and The Batman on June 25th, 2021.
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