Casting news sets up New 52 Shazam Family in new ‘Shazam!’ film with Zachary Levi

Fans know some fundamentals about the new Shazam! film, starring Zachary Levi and Mark Strong, but new casting news sheds light on the arrival of the entire Shazam Family.

ScreenRant notes that “The arrival of the Shazam Family of heroes is being kept under wraps for understandable reasons, since their arrival will be a major moment. That’s assuming the movie plays out like the New 52 version – when Billy Batson’s foster family shares in his magic, becoming adult superheroes alongside him.

“…if Freddy Freeman, Mary Marvel, and the rest of the Shazam Family are sticking around, here are the actors and actresses fans can prepare to see join DC’s movie universe.

• Adam Brody is Freddy Freeman
• Michelle Borth is Mary
• Ross Butler is Eugene
• D. J. Cotrona is Pedro
• Meagan Good is Darla

So there have been younger versions of these characters already cast: Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Grace Fulton as Mary, Ian Chen as  Eugene, Jovan Armand as Pedro and Faithe Herman as Darla.

All of these actors have converged on the shoot in Toronto, at the same time.

With the “New 52” reboot that followed Flashpoint, the Captain Marvel character was renamed “Shazam” and starred in a backup segment of the Justice League series (second volume) from 2012 to 2013. These backups, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank, introduced Billy Batson/Shazam and his new Shazam Family, consisting of Billy and his five foster siblings, with whom he can share his powers.

Here’s a look at the New 52 version:

Black Adam confronts the newly created Shazam Family (l to r: Eugene Choi, Darla Dudley, Pedro Peña, Mary Bromfield, and Freddy Freeman), as seen in Justice League (vol. 2) #21 (August 2013). Art by Gary Frank.

More on the Celeb sightings HERE

As this point it isn’t even a stretch to see this playing out. The New 52 has greatly influenced the DCCU up until now, so a Shazam Family offers up a ton of new characters, which sells a lot of comic books and toys.

Shazam! opens four months after the next DC film, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman (Dec. 21 of this year) on April 5, 2019 so expect a ton of news to start dropping from Warner Bros and a big presence at SDCC.

Levi stars in the film as the adult superhero Captain Marvel, who is actually a young boy named Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel). Billy is able to transform into the hero by uttering the magic word “Shazam!”

Strong has been cast as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, who turns to magic to save his family and brings Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) into the fold to battle Shazam. David F. Sanberg is at the helm from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke.