The writer of Shazam! has revealed how the superhero film's most important and heartbreaking scene came from a DC executive's note. Shazam!, which came to theaters in April 2019, follows a rebellious 13-year-old foster kid named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who is given the power to transform into a powerful adult superhero (Zachary Levi) by the wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou). The film's overall arc is about Billy learning to stop selfishly pursuing his own desires and work together as part of a team and a family in order to prevent the Seven Deadly Sins from being unleashed upon the world by the villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).Although a follow-up is on its way in 2023's Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the future of the DCEU is currently on shaky ground. While the year started with the explosive success of the The Suicide Squad spinoff series Peacemaker, the future of the franchise has become murky, with both the Shazam! and Aquaman sequels experiencing frequent delays and the recent merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery bringing in a new regime that is refocusing the company's mission, which included removing the upcoming HBO Max film Batgirl from the slate altogether. This week, the franchise was dealt another blow when it was announced that DC Films president Walter Hamada is leaving the company.Related: Aquaman and Shazam Sequel Delays Suggest The DCEU Won't Fully Reboot

On his official Twitter account, Shazam! screenwriter Henry Gayden shared a thread honoring Hamada's creative contributions to the DCEU. He revealed that one of the most devastating scenes of the film - when Billy finds his birth mother and learns that she willingly gave him up to foster care and has no desire to have him back in her life - was actually a suggestion from Hamada, who thought that the original scene with Billy visiting his parents' graves was too rote. Although he understands the irony of this situation, Gayden told Hamada that "he was taking too big of a swing creatively," but he was encouraged to sit down and write the scene, and once he did he said that "an hour later, it was my favorite scene in the movie."

How Shazam!'s Screenplay Change Affected Billy Batson's Arc

This studio note ended up being key in Billy Batson's Shazam! character arc. The film was already about him embracing a found family in the form of the kids around him in his foster group home, but this scene makes them coming together in the end much more meaningful. His quest to find his birth mother has been the driving motivation of his entire life up to this point, so the fact that she is still alive is an instrumental illustration of him actively making the choice to join his foster family rather than continue trying to find a place in the family he was born into.

Considering his contributions, Hamada's exit will have untold impact on the future of the DCEU. However, Shazam! fans can at least rest easy that the sequel was made while under his regime. Hopefully the film will be able to strike the same balance of lighthearted humor and serious meaning that made the original such a success.

Source: Henry Gayden/Twitter

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