Zachary Levi Reportedly Hoped Shazam Would Make Him Next Rock But It Didn’t Work

A new report states Zachary Levi may have had plans on Shazam making him as big of a movie star as The Rock. Shazam! Fury of the Gods was Levi’s last DC project, which was a major disappointment at the box office. With James Gunn rebooting the DC Universe, there doesn’t look to be a place for Levi’s take on Shazam, or for Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal of Shazam nemesis Black Adam. Johnson was already a superstar when he starred in a Black Adam movie, but superstardom was reportedly something Levi was in search of when he suited up for his Shazam role.

The Hollywood Reporter ran an article detailing Zachary Levi’s endorsement of Presidential nominee Donald Trump. The article also looked at Levi’s place in Hollywood and some of the roles he’s taken on in faith-based projects like American Underdog and The Unbreakable Boy. However, everything is tied to Levi’s run playing the DC hero Shazam.

“When he was cast as Shazam, it was literally his dream,” a source told THR. “He thought this was his ticket to being The Rock or Chris Evans. But it didn’t happen for him, and he’s bitter about that.” Levi also reportedly relocated from Los Angeles to a ranch in Texas with the hope that these faith-based projects and his endorsement of Trump will garner him a new fanbase.

Zachary Levi comments on Shazam future

One of the first things DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran did when they were put in charge of Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Studios was to recast several roles, including Henry Cavill’s Superman. That left Levi’s status as Shazam up in the air, though the actor has stated numerous times that he’d be up for a Shazam return down the line.

ComicBook spoke to Zachary Levi back in December 2023 for his movie Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, where he was asked if there have been any conversations about where Shazam could go next. After admitting he hadn’t had any conversations and those decisions being above his paygrade, he gushed over the character and how much he loved both Shazam! films. “I’m really proud of both films. I really think the second film was, in some respects, better than the first. And the first was really good. I’m really proud of both of them.”

He later added, “I would love to be able to do more iterations of it. I would love to collaborate with Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern.”

Levi also previously labeled James 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 told ComicBook back in March 2023. “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.”