Director David F. Sandberg has been steadily cranking out updates for his latest project, a movie based on DC Comics’ Shazam!
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Featuring the character formerly known as Captain Marvel, Shazam! is the story of Billy Batson, a young boy who is chosen to become a champion for a wizard and is granted the power to turn into a full-grown superhero.
A new rumor for the film states that Sandberg is currently conducting screen tests for the part of Billy Batson, possibly looking to discover an unknown child actor for the role.
The rumor from Moviehole states that Henry Gayden’s script is “a beautifully balanced tone of superhero adventure antics and welcome humor,” akin to Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ant-Man.
Given the nature of the film’s lead character being portrayed by both a child and an adult, Sandberg will also likely be looking at casting a established name for the character Shazam!
Sandberg previously revealed to Collider that he didn’t want to adopt the current trend and use CG to de-age an actor and keep their likeness for the younger role of Billy Batson.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to do that, Sandberg said. “That seems like way too much of a hassle. So I think it’s just kind of best to have a kid and an adult.”
Sandberg addressed the recent trend in movies such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Ant-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but reiterated that it would likely be difficult to de-age an actor to the degree required for Shazam!
“Yeah and they’ve done quite well, I mean Kurt Russell was in the latest Guardians was really well made I thought, but I think there’s a limit to it as well,” Sandberg said. “You probably can’t do someone to be a kid. Why create that hassle for yourself?”
Shazam! is currently in pre-production.
When the film was first announced it was scheduled to release in theaters on April 5, 2019, though that might have changed.
