“Shazam!” star Zachary Levi didn’t hold back from calling out the connection between James Gunn, now head of the forthcoming reboot of the DC cinematic universe, and his brother Sean Gunn, who was just cast as Maxwell Lord in the revamped comic world.
Chris Killian of ComicBook.com asked Levi if he would be interested in taking a path similar to Sean Gunn or Jason Momoa, both of whom have played other DC roles before being cast in the new films. In Sean Gunn’s case for sure and according to rumors for Momoa, they’ve each taken on new mantles, with Sean Gunn’s a more significant one than his previous “The Suicide Squad” (2021) appearances as Weasel.
“I don’t know,” Levi said when asked if he’d be doing the same, following his run as Shazam in the prior DC film world. “Listen, when you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play whoever you want.”
“Sean was never established in the DC Universe,” Levi said. “I mean, he’s played Marvel characters, but this is his first DC character.” Killian pointed out that Sean Gunn had previously appeared in what Levi later described as “cameos” like Calendar Man and Weasel. Levi questioned whether Momoa was signed onto any other DC roles, mainly that of Lobo.
As for the future of “Shazam!” after “Fury of the Gods” launched in theaters this past March, Levi isn’t sure, but he has some ideas for continuing the character’s storyline.
“I’m really proud of both films. I really think the second film was in some respects even better than the first, and the first was really good,” Levi said. “I’m really proud of both of them. It ultimately didn’t do at the box office when everybody hoped it would do, so I don’t know ultimately how that plays into the fate ultimately of where it goes.
“But if I only ever got the shot to do the first two films, [I’m] very grateful for that opportunity because it’s such a delightful character to play,” Levi continued. “It’s Christopher Reeves in ‘Superman’ and Tom Hanks in ‘Big’ in one role, and that was my childhood, and so like, getting to bring that to life was so much fun. I would love being able to do more iterations of it. I would love to collaborate with, like, Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern.”
