Official ‘SHAZAM’ Trailer Released During Comic-Con – And It’s Awesome

As expected, Warner Bros and DC Entertainment released the first official ‘SHAZAM’.trailer during their big Comic-Con presentation earlier today. There is a lot to talk about here, but for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, go ahead and give it a watch.

During the Hall H panel, Shazam was described as Tom Hanks’ Big meets a Superhero movie, and if the trailer is any indication, they hit the nail on the head. Every second is a ton of fun, with Zachary Levi looking like a perfect casting in the title role, so if the entire movie matches the tone set by the trailer, fans will have a lot to thank director David Sandberg for.

According to Sandberg, it was Levi’s ability to portray genuine child-like excitement and innocence that won him the role. David told the the audience that more than 100 people were auditioned for the role of Shazam, he said, but once Levi showed up, it was obvious he was the right fit because of his enthusiasm about everything. “He feels like a big kid,” he said. “Others would play him like, ‘Oh, I’m dumber now.’”

Levi himself added, “This is complete wish fulfillment. This is 14 year old me that got to put on a cape and fly,”…“This whole movie is about wish fulfillment.” Then when asked about Levi letting the inner child out, the young cast playing Billy Batson’s foster brothers and sisters said that Levi was the biggest kid on set. Levi then happily agreed by saying, “that’s a fair assessment.”

With this being Shazam’s first big screen appearance, we get a taste of the on-screen origin story as well as Billy trying to figure out his new powers. Batson derives his heroic attributes by saying the phrase, “Shazam” which is an acronym of the ancient-world gods and historical figures Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury. So far, it all plays really well and is really funny.

We also got our first look at the films villain, played by Mark Strong. Altogether, I’d say this trailer gave us something to look forward to next Spring.

SHAZAM is set to release in theaters on April 5th, 2019.