A new image for the upcoming DC film Shazam! features the hero Shazam facing off against villain Doctor Sivana. The next film in the growing DC movie universe focuses on Billy Batson, a young boy who can turn himself into the superhero Shazam after saying the hero's name. Zachary Levi will be playing Shazam, but the film's cast will also include Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, and Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
For a time, it was widely believed that the villain in Shazam! would be none other than Shazam's arch-enemy Black Adam, but that is no longer the case. That villain will be portrayed by Dwayne Johnson at some point. However, Black Adam will not appear in Shazam! Instead, the villain will be Doctor Sivana, a popular Shazam! villain that dates back to 1939, which is the same year that Shazam debuted in Whiz Comics #2. Fans have gotten a few glimpses of Doctor Sivana in the past few months, but a new image has just arrived.
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In an exclusive image from Empire, Shazam faces off against Doctor Sivana. The image was a part of Empire's Ultimate 2019 Preview issue, which gave a sneak peek of several popular titles that will hit theaters in 2019. While the image doesn't give much away about the upcoming movie, the photo seems to be from one of Shazam's early encounters with Doctor Sivana that was shown in the first Shazam! trailer.
Warner Bros. has no doubt had some trouble getting their superhero shared universe off the ground. That being said, Wonder Woman started turning the DC Extended Universe around in 2017 and Aquaman is also currently in theaters, which has been doing quite well with both fans and critics. As for Shazam!, the film's director David F. Sandberg has revealed that Shazam! will be the most light-hearted entry to the DC film universe yet.
Since Shazam! will likely aid in the soft reboot of the unofficially titled DC Extended Universe, all eyes will be on Sandberg's movie in 2019 to see what Warner Bros. has up their sleeves to start diversifying their content. Even though many people were looking forward to seeing Black Adam in Shazam!, Strong's portrayal of Doctor Sivana likely won't disappoint since he proved he has what it takes to play a villain in the past. With that in mind, Doctor Sivana has been around just as long as Shazam, so fans of the comic books will also likely be looking forward to seeing the character up on the big screen once Shazam! hits theaters.
More: Shazam! CCXP Footage Description: Shazam Meets Dr. Sivana
Source: Empire
