News: Shazam! Will Star Zachary Levi

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Image courtesy NBC
 Earth's mightiest mortal has been chosen, as Zachary Levi has been selected to star in Shazam!. First reported by THR, Levi is probably best known for playing Chuck on the NBC spy comedy series Chuck, which ran from 2007-2012. His recent appearances include Thor: Ragnarok, Heroes Reborn, and Telenovela. He beat out John Cena, Derek Theler, Zane Holtz, Billy Magnussen, and Jake McDorman.

 Shazam! director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation) had recently confirmed that the DC comic book film is on track for its April 2019 release date, the original release date set by Warner Bros. The news came from a Reddit thread that Sandberg commented on, saying that the film is on track to release the same year as Gambit and Captain Marvel. The film is looking to shoot in Toronto from February until May of 2018. The character of Shazam is a boy who can transform into Earth's mightiest mortal. 

 It was initially unclear who who would star as Shazam or if Dwayne Johnson would appear in some capacity, who has long been attached to play the Shazam! villain Black Adam. Johnson will not star as the villain of Shazam!, but will instead star in the Black Adam spinoff being developed concurrently to Shazam!