Shazam! Actor Zachary Levi Explains the Problems With His Costume

Shazam! star Zachary Levi explained some of the problems with his costume at DC FanDome. It’s no secret that all of these big Hollywood blockbusters have an entire world of costuming going on behind the scenes. A fan from Canada asked, “If you could make one change to the Shazam! costume, what would that be?” Stories are out there about how hard it can be for actors playing Batman to use the restroom and Margot Robbie has talked about how frigid it can get to play Harley Quinn. For Levi, the bathroom concerns are on his radar too, but there are some other small tweaks to make things a bit more comfortable that he would put into place if he was running the show. There is no question that costume design has come a long way from the days of Batman in the 80s, but there are some advancements coming that will make it even better.

“I would make it a tad more comfortable,” Levi began. “First and foremost, it’s a little snug. It’s a little tight. Very difficult to go to the bathroom in, so I would figure that out. Like a butt flap or something, I don’t know. I have a cape that could hide it.”

“Also, figuring out the wiring for all the light-up bits,” he observed. “Because that can all get a little funky. But, yeah, I don’t know. They’re all small prices to pay. All worth it to don the Big Red Cheese’s leotard.”

In fact, Comicbook.com’s Brandon Davis had the chance to ask Levi about this very topic last year and those bathroom complaints came up then too.

“It’s what everybody says, it’s the inconvenience of when you need to go to the bathroom,” Levi elaborated. Everyone always asks about the best part of stepping into one of these suits, so why not get real and hear about the worst part? Levi was pretty honest and open about it!

“Yeah, because in order for it to look great, you have to have it kind of be seamless,” he detailed. “You can’t have a bunch of zippers and things everywhere, unless you’re like Deadpool, I guess. He had a bunch of zippers. If you’re created by Rob Liefeld, then you’re going to have a bunch of pouches and zippers, and no ankles.” An impressive cut from the actor, referencing Liefeld’s often criticized feet designs in comics.

“It’s just the overall kind of uncomfortability sometimes of wearing essentially a massive spandex adult size onesie,” Levi added. “It’s super tight, it becomes kind of like a second skin, I would overheat in it. I would freeze in it. The electronics in it would be a dance sometimes. But all of that, whatever, I’ll take all of that times ten if I get to do this again. If I get to be the guy to wear the suit, I’ll take the lumps, I’ll do it.”

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