Zachary Levi on Shazam! Future After DC Universe's "Rolling Reset" (Exclusive)
DC Studios finds itself in a state of limbo this year. New studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran officially unveiled their plans for the DC Universe at the beginning of 2023, but before those projects move forward, the two creatives have inherited four already-shot films. The first of that batch comes in just two weeks in the form of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. This Zachary Levi-led sequel picks up where 2019's Shazam! left off and is set to further the Billy Batson corner of the DCEU. While no other DCEU characters showed face in the previous installment, that film peppered numerous sets with nods to the greater superhero world around itself.
With Henry Cavill's Superman already confirmed to not be returning, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman having an uncertain future, and Jason Momoa seemingly pivoting to a new character completely, questions have circulated surrounding what's next for Levi's Shazam. Speaking to ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis, Levi labelled Gunn's vision for the DC Universe as an ongoing process rather than a hard reboot.
"It's kind of a rolling reset, if you will," Levi said. "There's a lot of things that were inherited that were already kind of well before Peter and James even got to the positions they're in right now. There were lots of conversations about what's going to move forward and what's not, and how do we, 'How do we?' I'm way over here as a aprt of the 'we,' but how do the powers that be figure out how to chop this up and try to make it work moving forward?"
Levi added that he has a long-running rapport with both of the new DC Studios bosses that dates far before either man assumed their current roles.
"Listen, I've known Peter now for years because he's my producer on Shazam! and I've known James Gunn for even more years," Levi continued. "We have mutual friends and we've had game nights together in LA. I've been at a Christmas party of his and almost was Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy."
His friendship with Gunn even helped him land in the superhero role that he currently holds.
"He, James, stumped for me, fought for me when Peter asked him about me," Levi revealed. "'Hey, what do you think of Zach because we're thinking about him for Shazam?' James was like, 'Yes, go get that guy, he could really go crush that.'"
Fury of the Gods will be just the second time that Levi dons the white cape. That said, he is content knowing that there will be more Shazam moving forward, even if he is no longer than man bringing the character to life.
"I feel good that there's a future for Shazam even if they have to rejigger the role and there's another actor or whatever," Levi continued. "The character is great. The character needs to keep going but other than that, I don't know how it's all gonna come together. I'm just taking it a day at a time, trusting a day at a time, one step in front of the other and trying to work on me to be the best me."
Shazam! Fury of the Gods hits theaters on March 17th.