SDCC 2018: The DCEU Lightens Up for the First Shazam! Trailer

With the brooding Man of Steel and its gritty successors, Zack Snyder indelibly left his mark on the DCEU. Movies like Batman v Superman and Justice League — but not so much Aquaman, from the looks of the trailer — are indeed darker than the average superhero flick, but they’re not without relieving moments of humor and humanity. Shazam!, however, is taking a step back and concocting a whole new formula that may throw more jokes than punches.

Similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Shazam! is a more down to earth coming of age story than it is a bad-guy-basher or a fight for the future of the universe. The new trailer hammers this point home. There are only two fight scenes shown, one against high school bullies and the other against convenience store robbers. The main character, Shazam (Zachary Levi), is just a kid, after all, even if he’s granted a body to rival Henry Cavill’s Superman and a shiny new suit. And that’s the only larger-than-life moment that the trailer features. Djimon Hounsou’s Wizard is the only otherworldly occurrence we see, and the writers acknowledge its strangeness with a much-needed, self-aware joke about the use of the titular magic word.

There’s no confirmed appearances from the other DC heroes, although protagonist Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster brother Freddy (It’s Jack Dylan Grazer) have all sorts of related paraphernalia. The classic Shazam villain, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, does make the slightest appearance in the form of Mark Strong, as the plot will inevitably link Billy to the greater threats at work in the DCEU.

From the looks of it, Shazam! realistically portrays what it would be like for a kid growing up obsessed with superheroes to become one himself. And that means there needs to be a lot of pop culture references. Freddy brings up Game of Thrones when Billy moves in with him, and Billy is sure to throw in some flossing when the two record videos of Billy as Shazam trying out his powers.

See what other surprises and references come about when Shazam! is released April 5.

Featured Image: (L-r) JACK DYLAN GRAZER as Freddy Freeman and ZACHARY LEVI as Shazam in New Line Cinema’s action adventure “SHAZAM!,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie/ & (c) DC Comics