One of DC Films’ most anticipated movies is David Sandberg’s Shazam! With a number of casting announcements flooding out the past few weeks including Shazam, Billy Batson, and the long-time Captain Marvel villain Doctor Sivana, we decided to put together a short list detailing five quick facts about Shazam to introduce you to the character.
Watch:
Shazam aka Captain Marvel has had a storied history. He might be one of the most successful comic book characters around. While Fawcett Comics first launched the character in 1939, he was adapted for television for CBS’ Saturday morning lineup. The show was called The Shazam!/Isis Hour. Captain Marvel split the one hour episode with The Secrets of Isis which told the story of the Ancient Egyptian superheroine who was resurrected in the body of a school teacher. The shows actually crossovered for three episodes with Joanna Cameron’s Isis and her alter-ego Andrea Thomas appearing on three episodes of Shazam!. In return John Davey, who played Captain Marvel, appeared on three episodes of Isis.
Not only did Shazam have his own television series, but by 1941 he became the first comic book superhero to be adapted into film. In 1941 Republic Pictures released the 12-part film serial Adventures of Captain Marvel. It only took two years for Captain Marvel to make the jump from the comic book to the big screen!
Shazam has also appeared in a number of Warner Bros. animated films. His first appearance was a brief cameo in 2008’s Justice League: The New Frontier. He would then have a much larger role in the 2009 film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. He would not make his first animated universe appearance until 2005 when he appeared in the Justice League Unlimited episode “Clash,” where Shazam and Superman battle it out.
Are you excited to see Shazam aka Captain Marvel come to the big screen? I know I am. I can not wait to see the gleeful kid turned superhero fight for what is good and right against the villainous Doctor Sivana!
Shazam! will be the next DC Film to begin shooting and with the cast coming together it’s possible shooting will begin sooner rather than later.