Shazam! Movie Preview: New Footage Descriptions & Story Reveals

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Shazam. Seriously.

DC's Shazam! is almost out in theaters and, surprisingly, not too much has been shown from the movie yet. Previously, WB skewed the line of putting out too many trailers for their DC movies, even spoiling some of them, but now, with Aquaman and Shazam!, they've taken a different approach. As a result, there's quite a bit that comic book fans and general audiences aren't aware of, besides the fact that it'll be a fun adventure story.

Starring Asher Angel as Billy Batson and Zachary Levi as the superhero Shazam, this year's Shazam! movie is perhaps one of the most unique comic book movies to release in recent years. And in order to promote the latest superhero movie from WB, the studio invited Screen Rant as well as other entertainment outlets to their lot in Burbank to show off approximately 15-20 minutes of footage, which concluded with a brief roundtable interview with director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran.

What was shown to us was mostly extended sequences of scenes from the Shazam! trailer and promo. However, these sequences were abridged versions of the ones that will appear in the final cut (in addition to having temporary VFX and music), as Sandberg, Safran, and WB wanted to provide the press with a preview that would give an honest look at the film and its tone - which it did.

This Page: Billy Batson at School & Rock of Eternity
Page 2: Shazam's Powers, Store Robbery, & Sizzle Reel

Billy Batson At School & Saving Freddy Freeman

Our Shazam! preview began with the children crossing the sidewalk and going into school. This was the first time we see Billy with some of his other foster siblings, aside from Freddy Freeman, that is. (Interestingly, we were told that Jack Dylan Grazer's Freddy has the most screen-time in the movie thanks to him working alongside both Angel's Billy and Levi's Shazam.) From there, the shot cuts to Billy in the school cafeteria, at which point Freddy joins him and immediately asks what superpower he would want - specifically, flight or invisibility. As seen in the trailer, Billy makes a joke about flying away from the conversation, gets up, and leaves.

Freddy follows him and talks about why people choose invisibility, which he connects to Billy wanting to be invisible; Billy apparently gathered up a go-bag filled with food and drinks, as well as Freddy's Superman bullet (though Billy says he didn't take that), and was planning to leave them. At the end of the school day, Billy and Freddy go outside and meet the other foster children, including Grace Fulton's Mary. And, as shown in the trailers, two kids start bullying Freddy. Although Billy started to walk away at first, he ultimately steps in and hits the kids... then he runs away.

Shazam & Black Adam's Origin At Rock Of Eternity

After escaping the boys who were bullying Freddy at the school, Billy boards a train that is then intercepted by the Wizard Shazam. The abridged version we saw plays out about the same as the scene shown in the trailers, though we do see the other passengers dissipate into dust. After disembarking the train, Billy is greeted by the Wizard Shazam inside the Rock of Eternity (the source of all magic), who is now being played by Djimon Hounsou. (Ron Cephas Jones was originally reported to be playing the wizard, but a scheduling conflict prevented him from taking the role.)

What follows next is exposition that may go over general audiences' heads but will surely be appreciated by comic book fans. The Wizard explains to Billy that he's the last wizard alive from the now destroyed Council of Eternity. He says that a long time ago they chose the wrong champion, who presumably led to their downfall. Rather than just tell the story, the Wizard permeates the room with magic, like a hologram, and shows the former champion over what appears to be Egypt. This is, of course, a reference to Black Adam - a role Dwayne Johnson has been attached to since 2014.

When asked about this scene and, particularly, Black Adam, Sandberg and Safran were reluctant to confirm that he was the champion the Wizard was talking about, or that we actually see an outline of him in the scene, but did they cheekily say, "you can read it that way if you choose to." The Wizard spent centuries searching for another champion, which ultimately leads him to Billy Batson. Upon saying the Wizard's name, Billy transforms into the superhero Shazam, with the Wizard then reciting the origin of his powers - lightning, flight, and wisdom, as well as superhuman speed and strength, among other things. These powers come from Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.

This is the first time that we see Levi's Shazam, and it's clear from the get-go why he was chosen for this role. From then on, we didn't see other scenes of Angel's Billy. Instead, the rest of the footage focused on Levi's Shazam learning what powers he had and how to control them.

Page 2 of 2: Shazam's Powers, Store Robbery, & Sizzle Reel

The Superhero Shazam Learning His Powers

After the Shazam transformation, we see Shazam wake up on the same train he was on before, but not as Billy. A comedic scene plays out with one of the other train passengers and then footage it cuts to the scene from the trailer, in which Shazam gets home and tells Freddy not to scream. Interestingly, though, similar to the Superman bullet from earlier, Freddy also name-drops Batman here when Shazam says, "You're the only person I know who knows anything about this caped crusader stuff," at which point Freddy corrects him by saying, "Batman."

While the Shazam! promos have shown Freddy and Shazam testing out the superhero's flight capabilities in an abandoned area, the first time they actually try to see what he can do is outside their house. Freddy, of course, records everything, and the first thing they try out is Shazam's flight capabilities. And no matter how many times Levi says, "I believe I can fly," it doesn't work. But what does work is his lightning, which strikes down a nearby telephone pole. That's when Shazam gets to act like a superhero for the first time, saving someone who's being mugged nearby.

Without getting into too much detail, Shazam learns he has superhuman speed and strength in this scene, and the funniest part is how Freddy already tries to label him as a superhero - with a name and everything. However, they don't land on the correct name just yet; Freddy first tries out, Thundercrack, Mr. Philadelphia, and Power Boy - the latter of which is a reference to the DC superhero of the same name, who was revealed in the recent New 52 run that he was born on Apokolips. Another thing that comes out of this scene is that Billy learns he's an adult as Shazam. So what would two teenagers do when they realize they don't need a fake ID? Buy alcohol.

Shazam Prevents A Robbery (& Learns He's Bulletproof)

Shazam!'s promos and photos thus far have shown quite a bit of the store robbery scene - and we got to see a tad bit more of that. Shortly after having the epiphany that he could purchase alcohol since he IS the fake ID, Shazam and Freddy find themselves in the middle of a robbery. When the two robbers raise their weapons at Shazam, he snatches one of the guns, and that's when the other robber shoots him. When the bullet falls to the ground (which Freddy could keep to replace his Superman bullet?), that's when Shazam learns that he's bulletproof (and perhaps nigh-invincible). But instead of throwing the robbers out of the window (as he does in the trailer and later in the sequence), he gives one of the robbers his gun back and tells them to "go to town."

As one can imagine, all the bullets fall to the ground, and that's when he tosses them out of the window and leaves, but not before taking a case of beer with him. Again, being teenagers, Billy/Shazam and Freddy take a sip of the beer, spitting it out almost immediately. It's an acquired taste, especially for two 15-year-olds. So, instead of just leaving, they go back inside and grab stuff they know they like: soda, snacks, candy, and jerky. This was the last sequence we saw, and while it doesn't reveal too much that fans haven't already seen (or could deduce themselves), it specifically highlights the tone the movie is going for: a fun action film in which a kid learns to become a superhero. It's unlike any other superhero movie out there, from DC or Marvel - and that's very much a good thing.

Shazam! Sizzle Reel & Possible New Trailer

Shazam Faces Off With Dr. Sivana Zachary Levi Mark Strong

Following the end of the previous scene, a sizzle reel of additional footage shown, which could be the new Shazam! trailer that's supposed to be on the way. In the sizzle reel/trailer, we finally learn what Dr. Sivana's goal is in the Shazam! movie. Mark Strong's villain wants Shazam's power, and he's willing to threaten Billy's foster children to get it. And since Shazam! is very much an origin story for Billy as Shazam, we see him practice his powers a bit more, such as flying; while falling, Shazam attempts to fly like Superman, but he doesn't know how he does it or which arm he uses. Other footage appeared to be extensions of previous scenes already shown.

Ultimately, Shazam! certainly exists within the confines of the DCEU, but it's a unique tale of a boy learning to become a superhero. Perhaps most interesting, the movie takes place in a world that's like ours - a real world - with superhero costumes, toys, and people to be like them; the only difference is that, to them, those superheroes are real. It'll be interesting to see how it not only introduces magic into the DCEU but incorporates the overarching shared universe as well beyond what we've already seen.