Director David F. Sandberg teases that the start of production on Warner Bros. and DC Films Shazam! is practically imminent. Despite there being little-to-no visible progress made on Shazam! for several years following Warner Bros.' original announcement of it in 2014, Shazam! has quickly turned into one of the most-talked about DC titles set to be released over the next few years. And in fact, not only will Shazam! be the next DC film to begin principal photography - with a loose start date rumored to be in the early months of 2018 - but it will be the next film in the DCEU to hit theaters following the release of James Wan's Aquaman solo film in 2018.

The quick traction on Shazam! these past few months is no doubt thanks to DC and Warner Bros. finally nailing down their director for it, with David F. Sandberg confirming his involvement in the DC title during this year's San Diego Comic-Con. While Sandberg has been busy wrapping up promotion on Annabelle: Creation in recent weeks, talk of Shazam! has only increased as more time has gone on, with fans anxious to find out how he and the studio are planning on bringing such a unique comic book character to life on the big screen.

Related: Shazam Casting Could Come ‘Soon’

During a recent interview with Collider, Sandberg revealed that his schedule has him beginning work on Shazam! almost immediately after the press tour for Annabelle: Creation ends:

"Pretty much going into Shazam right away. I mean my life’s just become so weird because I got to do Lights Out and immediately afterward I got to do Annabelle and now I’m going straight into Shazam, so it’s like I’m on a roll so let’s just keep going until they kick me out of Hollywood."

Sandberg's career path is a noteworthy and unique one, which explains how baffled even he seems about his schedule right now. After making a name for himself with inventive horror short films on YouTube, Sandberg was given the chance to direct his first feature film ever with 2016's Lights Out - based on one of his own YouTube shorts. He quickly followed that up with Annabelle: Creation, and now, is positioned at the helm of one of the biggest blockbusters of the next few years. It is worth noting though, that Sandberg wouldn't officially confirm any concrete start date for Shazam! during the interview, instead just saying:

"Yeah, I don’t know if it’s official. ... It’s coming up."

It makes sense that he might want to shy away from confirming anything as of right now when he's still this early on in the process. And while a January or February 2018 start date has been rumored for Shazam! up until this point, it's entirely possible that could change. Especially since that only gives Sandberg and the studio a few months to cast the entire ensemble for the film - including Billy Batson and his superheroic, adult alter ego - in addition to having to nail down the film's script and creative direction. But hopefully, Sandberg's comments here also mean it's only a matter of time now, before Shazam's central casting is finally made.

Next: How the Shazam! Director Is Dealing With Fan Expectations

Source: Collider

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