Work on the next film in the DC Extended Universe began on Tuesday, as Shazam! director David F. Sandberg posted a basic but meaningful picture signifying the beginning of pre-production on his superhero film.
We've been hearing about a potential Shazam! film for years now, with several false starts and long-waiting periods that have led the project to be eclipsed by news about other DCEU projects. Dwayne Johnson was set to play the eponymous superhero's arch nemesis Black Adam for a number of years, before it was announced that he would get his own DCEU film instead. Then, in July, Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg signed onto the film - and now we have further evidence that Shazam! is moving along on schedule, to make its current April 2019 release date.
Related: How Shazam! Director is Dealing With Fan Expectations
With production expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018, Sandberg has some 4-7 months to finalize his cast and crew, finalize shooting locations and complete other miscellaneous tasks, ahead of principal photography getting underway. Needless to say, he's got a lot of work to do and the director has now officially gotten started, posting on his Instagram page a pic of his blank walls at Warner Brothers Studio, California, to celebrate the beginning of pre-production:
Day 1 A post shared by David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) on
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Sandberg's picture is obviously less revealing and more symbolic, almost as if he's starting from literal scratch to build up his superhero blockbuster. Besides some eye-catching Coke product placement, there's not much to look at here, beyond a notification of the director's humble beginnings at the outset of this project. If this is his office for the duration of production on the film, one could expect these walls to soon be filled with storyboard sketches, story note ideas, and casting photos for the actors in the film, including the two different actors playing the main superhero.
Beyond a few joking teases on Sandberg's Twitter page, we still know next to nothing about Shazam!. As was mentioned earlier, Black Adam is no longer set to appear in Shazam!, thanks Johnson getting his own DCEU movie deal. That takes away what we considered the only certainty of the film, beyond it being one of the more lighthearted efforts in the DCEU so far, thanks to its premise. Fortunately, based on this update from Sandberg, it seems that we can expect to learn much more about the film in general, over the next few months.
NEXT: What is the Official Future of the DCEU?
Source: David F. Sandberg
