The Warner Bros/New Line Presentation took place at WonderCon 2019 in the Arena at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, March 30 at 5:00pm. The contents of that presentation were not announced in advance, showing only “TBA” for the programming schedule description. It turned out that the first part of the presentation included a video intro and trailer for Annabelle Comes Home, followed by a panel for Godzilla: King of the Monsters with Executive Producer Zach Shields and Director Michael Dougherty.
The second half of the presentation was for, you guessed it, Shazam! Panelists included actors Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, and Jack Dylan Grazer, as well as Director David F. Sandberg.
Zachary Levi excitedly talked about the recent promotion they had been doing for the film, which he pointed out had a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. He seemed very proud of the reception of the movie so far, commenting “We weren’t just fooling ourselves!”
The panel launched almost immediately into audience Q&A. Having already seen the film at an early screening the week before, we actually knew a couple of answers to attendees’ questions!
The audience Q&A was kicked off with a question posed to Levi about what would happen if the reverse of Shazam! happened to him, and he turned into a 15 year old boy. Jack Dylan Grazer quickly answered for him: “Nothing would change.” Levi agreed (after pointing out that the character is actually 14, not 15), saying that he wouldn’t be all that different and would still read comic books and play video games.
Of course, the perennial question about pranks came up. Apparently Jack Dylan Grazer was the resident prankster on set, so he decided to tell us the “safest” story that he could. One day, when they were shooting at the foster home (which Grazer revealed is actually a sound stage, not a real house), he saw Asher Angel talking to someone. Grazer then grabbed a bottle of baby powder, and called out to him to look, as he squeezed the bottle. Grazer claimed he thought the baby powder was going to shoot straight up into the air, but what actually happened was that the powder went all over Asher Angel, in his hair and his wardrobe! “I just ran!” Grazer recalled.
When asked whether we would see the Seven Deadly Sins in the movie, David F. Sandberg remained vague, saying only that “they play a part in it.”
As for whether we would get to see Shazam interact with other characters in the DC Universe, although Levi pointed out that the answer to that question is way above the panelists’ pay grade, he commented, “I would love for Shazam to be brought into the [Justice] League.” He added that Shazam would constantly be wrestling Superman, racing Flash, bugging Batman, and staring at Wonder Woman with “googly eyes” due to her beauty.
After one attendee praised Levi for defending Marvel’s Captain Marvel movie from lies, the attendee demanded to know whether Levi’s character would be called “Captain Marvel” or “Shazam” in the film. However, Levi answered that the attendee would just have to see the movie to find out.
Regarding “pinch me” moments, both Grazer and Angel gushed about how they had been dreaming about this since they were little kids (which was humorous to audience members, since the two are still so young). As for Mark Strong, he joked, “I feel like I finally got the chance to carry on my little evil throughline to the DC Universe.” He went on to say, “I never got the chance with Sinestro [in Green Lantern], but I feel like I have it with Dr. Sivana.” Levi acknowledged that he himself had been in a superhero movie before, though pointed out that his character was killed off, and commented that now “getting to wear the Spandex and be the guy, it’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
In response to a request for more details about Billy Batson, Angel talked about how Billy is not the nicest person at the beginning of the movie, but that he evolves throughout the movie as he finds his real family.
For Levi, the best part about making the movie was flying, which Mark Strong agreed with. The best part for Angel was jumping off a roof, while for Grazer it was incorporating a bit of himself into his character, Freddy, a character which he loves and wants to play again. Sandberg mentioned a cameo, but said he couldn’t talk about it.
The panelists were asked which one power of Shazam they would want. While the others’ answers included electricity manipulation and hyperspeed, Levi gave a clever answer: he would want the wisdom of Solomon, so that he would be able to build a suit that had all those powers.
On playing a superhero versus playing a super spy, Levi said that they were both very challenging and rewarding. He did point out that his wardrobe on Chuck (which he said “you’re welcome” to cosplayers, including the Chuck cosplayer who asked this question, for the easiest cosplay ever) was much more comfortable than on Shazam!, as well as much easier to go to the bathroom! Levi then reminisced about how 12 years ago he started going to San Diego Comic-Con for Chuck, and over the years his roles have evolved to now being a bonafide superhero — a journey which many audience members have been there for.
When an attendee, who is also a filmmaker, praised Sandberg and mentioned that it seemed like he was an “overnight success,” Sandberg pointed out that it didn’t happen for him until he was in his early 30s, so he had gone through a few years of struggling. His advice? “Keep doing things until something clicks with people, ’cause you never know what people will enjoy.” The attendee then tried to ask Sandberg to get lunch with him, but the microphone was cut off mid-sentence. Levi joked, “It’s like the Academy Awards!” However, Sandberg did tell the attendee he’d get lunch with him, and said “We’ll get tacos!”
One attendee told Mark Strong that he deserves to play more heroes. However, Strong said that he actually likes playing the villains, and that they’re “great fun.” This same attendee was also a director, and asked Sandberg how he ended up directing Shazam! after directing Lights Out, considering the different genres. Sandberg revealed that it was actually the studio who called him. He was just finishing up Annabelle: Creation when they called, and at the time he thought, “I don’t know why they’re asking me,” but he wasn’t going to ask them why, because then they might realize, “Oh yeah, why are we calling this guy?” Sandberg acknowledged that he has been very lucky, and was grateful for the opportunity to incorporate many of the things from the films he loved growing up, including humor, heart, and even a little bit of horror.
As for Levi’s preparation for the film, he said he was in the gym immediately, and ate a lot of calories — “and not the good kind!” Also, he tried to figure out how to be a fourteen year old kid again.
In response to a question about whether he thought the DC Universe was heading toward being more humorous, Levi once again pointed out that that was way above his pay grade. However, he did acknowledge that WB/DC was giving directors like David F. Sandberg and James Wan (Aquaman) room to “start breathing life” into the franchise. Levi also conceded that being given a story about a fourteen year old kid getting superpowers would inherently have more comedy. Additionally, Levi opined that like Deadpool is a different angle to the Marvel Universe, Shazam! is also a different angle into the DC Universe, pointing out that in the movie, all the DC characters are real, and what happened in the movies really happened and the characters are aware of that, so they are given the opportunity in the film to comment on that. For example, Grazer’s character Freddy is a huge fan of the DC characters. Levi also mentioned that this movie pulls a lot from Geoff Johns’s New 52.
When asked whether the rumored cancellation of the Suicide Squad influenced the appearance of Black Adam, Sandberg answered that he wasn’t aware of those rumors, and did not know what else was going on in the DC Universe. In fact, they were merely told “Make the best Shazam! movie you can,” and that as a result, they didn’t have to worry about setting up anything that comes in the next DC movie.
The final question was from an audience member who had already seen the movie, and praised how consistent the portrayal of Billy was, whether it was Levi or Angel playing him. Her question was whether they did anything specific to make it seem like that. Angel commented that the two didn’t actually get to spend a lot of time together, but Levi said that they did go through the script together and had some coaching from David F. Sandberg. Apparently they had discussed the possibility of Billy having a “tick” such as rubbing his right ear, but ultimately decided against it, because they didn’t want it to feel too obvious that the movie was trying to tell you that they were the same person.
It seemed like the panel was going to wrap up without seeing any footage of the film, but then at the last second it appeared that they suddenly remembered that they had a little something to show the audience. It was an extended clip right after Billy Batson turns into Shazam! for the first time, and is unsure what his powers are. So he and his new foster brother, Freddy, try out a few things. Cut to a trip to the convenience store to take advantage of Billy’s adult appearance, when the trip is interrupted by a robbery. Of course, Billy uses his newfound powers to step in and foil the robbers – in a very humorous way. The scene was slightly edited from the film version, but it was still hilarious seeing it again.
Shazam! will be in theaters on April 5.
That wrapped up our day in the Arena, though not at WonderCon. We stopped by the food trucks to grab some dinner, then headed back into the convention center shortly before 7pm for one more panel: the Marvel Fan Challenge. Stay tuned for our recap and photos!
You can view more of our photos from the Warner Bros/New Line Presentation at WonderCon 2019 below!
