Trailer should be coming out this weekend at SDCC. http://collider.com/shazam-image-asher-angel-billy-batson/#images
They are probably going for something like The Tick. Captain Marvel's hard to adapt for today's market but it could work with creativity which Hollywood unfortunately lacks. On further googling it appears they're using the updated hoodrat version which is lame
Is this the guy who is composed of a child or children? And they turn into Shazam? If so... that's dumb.
Marvel adapts stupid characters with ease that now everyone loves. Hell, even Iron Man was a B superhero and now he's become one of the main star attractions. DC can't even get their A list superheroes right so of course they can't even adapt the stupid ones. Captain America, Guardians and Ant-Man are harder to adapt than Shazam IMO.
I'm not talking about lesser-known, I'm talking premise. A little kid transforming into a hero sounds dumb, particularly if you try to picture that character in a movie like BvS. But I get it, talking Raccoon, okay, sure. The new DCU doesn't make good movies though. I guess we'll see.
They should have worked on the other Justice League members before trying their hand at the lesser known guys. Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Orion, Martian Manhunter, etc. This looks stupid as hell.
It's definitely clear that DC doesn't have their universe well mapped for the big screen, but they are also hurt by: 1) Mediocre casting choices 2) Characters that are supposed to be super powerful Marvel has done a good job grounding their characters. They've taken a lot of the infinite power out of these guys. DC characters are hard to do that for imo.
Capt. Marvel was once the most famous and popular superhero in the world. That was in the 1940s, but clearly there's some appeal there. Kids like superhero movies, too, and I don't think DC could survive another gray, grim-n-gritty superhero movie. I predict that Captain Marvel will once again be an incredibly famous and popular superhero. Courtesy of Brie Larson! Shazam? Better hope for a sleeper hit.
I have a hunch Zachary Levi playing a corny superhero like Shazam! might be the first time DC really nails it since Christian Bale's Batman. It's a much smaller scale and expectations aren't high. Time for DC to fake everyone out and deliver a pleasant surprise.
I have a feeling the Marvel Captain Marvel might flop, but we'll see. As for this one, if done right it could be an entertaining film but I don't have much in the way of expectations.