Shazam!
Shazamhad a aspect , but does he have a name ? It ’s been announcedZachary Levi will don the reddened suit and ashen lightning boltin David F. Sandberg ’s 2019 DC moving-picture show , but we do n’t know if he ’ll go by the wizard proclamation that turns Billy Batson into a superhero or his initial title of respect , Captain Marvel .
That ’s right , Shazam is n’t in reality called Shazam - or at least he was n’t originally . When Billy Batson and his superpowered self-importance first come out in 1940 , it was asCaptain Marvel . The problems this led to should be obvious . His comics ceased publication in 1952 ( due to complicated legal issues not worth getting into here ) and about a decade later , Marvel , seeing an opportunity for a strong right of first publication condition , created their own Captain Marvel . This caused a snag when DC bought the rights to the original Captain Marvel in the early 1970s - they could n’t issue any comics under his name . Instead , they locomote with the magic word that transforms Billy into his adult alter ego -Shazam !
But while the covers promised Shazam , in the pages the hero still went by Captain Marvel . The confusion was never really that damaging take thatMar - Vell- Marvel ’s inspired character who take the mantle - was never that democratic ( it ’s assume theCaptain Marvelrun remained more for the copyright than anything else ) andShazam!was a 2nd - tier DC comic himself . affair eventually get to a armistice in 2011 when , as part of the New 52 relaunch , DC changed up their Captain Marvel to look less like Superman and flat - out rename him Shazam .
However , the level does n’t finish there , or even in the varlet of the comedian . In 2019 we ’re make twoCaptain Marvelmovies : one , calledCaptain Marvel , will be from Marvel Studios and star Brie Larson as Carol Danvers , the heritor of Mar - Vell ’s championship ( she travel by Ms. Marvel for a recollective geological period in print ) ; the other is New Line Cinema’sShazam ! , part of the DC Films banner ( although it ’s unclear if it ’ll be in the DCEU shared universe ) with Zachary Levi bringing the rise former Captain Marvel to sprightliness . These movie will be released just two months aside - Marvel ’s in March , DC ’s in April- and foresighted - term fans are waiting with bated breath to see if any of the long - support comical repulsion issue forth to the giving screen growing .
While the name change in mark may leave to some to think a flock was reached , by all accounts Billy ’s Marvel became Shazam entirely at DC ’s behest - there ’s nothing de jure limit them really using it outside of cover . Whether that ’s true or not on film ( wonder - related movie rightsare notoriously complicated ) is n’t have it away , but it would seem the choice to use Captain Marvel inShazam!is alone up to the creators .
So what do we know from the production ? The obvious branding move - both for DC synergy and avoiding confusion with Marvel ’s own adaptation - is to go New 52 and just have Shazam ; there the only likely nomenclature battle is with the Sung dynasty - recognizing app . But count he ’s a predominantly legacy part whose iconography fare from the Golden Age of Comics , it feels sapless to simply avoid one of his fundamental facets .
It ’s by all odds on the creative ’s minds . When nip about fix the role , Levi said he was emotional to be " convey the original Captain Marvel to life " . That could easily have been him just showing lover on the fencing that he know the weight of what he ’s taking on , but it may also be some indication that the comic origins will not be drop off . Sandberg has been referring to him as Shazam , which points to no Captain , although that has been interchangeable with the exclamation peak - less title .
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Ultimately , Captain Marvel being uttered at some point inShazam!is something that ’s unimaginable to rule out - giventhe planned lighthearted tone , a gag would definitely be meet . For now , unless Sandberg position a pin in it , the literal proof will be in Levi ’s costume - if they go with the post-2011 goon and cape look from when he was known purely as Shazam , rather than the Golden Age beefcake , we may have our answer .
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