Ladies and germs, a new DCEU movie is now in front of cameras. Indeed, directorDavid F. Sandberg—who rose to prominence helming the horror hitsLights OutandAnnabelle: Creation—shared on Instagram today the first slate ofShazam!, marking the beginning of filming on the new DC Comics adaptation. The story revolves around a young boy who, when he utters the magic word “Shazam!”, transforms into an adult superhero.ChuckstarZachary Leviplays the adult character, whileAsher Angelfills the role of the young Billy Batson.
In contrast to the darkBatman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeandJustice Leagueand the edgySuicide Squad, it sounds likeShazam!will be a different direction for the DC Extended Universe. Levi previously described the tone of the film asBigmeetsSuperman, while Sandberg has been up front about wanting to inject a more comedic, lighter tone into the superhero movie. It sounds like it may even be lighter thanWonder Woman, which had some organic comedy but was lighter in more of a “hopeful” or “joyful” kind of way as opposed to straight-up jokes.
The casting of Levi, who’s done a lot of comedy, was our first clue, as well as the fact that New Line Cinema is behindShazam!, not Warner Bros. proper. New Line is an arm of WB, but it’ll be interesting to see how this movie contrasts with the DC lineup thus far.
The Instagram photo also confirms thatMaxime Alexandreis handling cinematographer duties, with whom Sandberg worked onAnnabelle: Creation. Alexandre has a background in horror but also shot the colorfulThe Voicesand the kid-friendlyEarth to Echo, so there’s some dynamism to his past work that bodes well forShazam!.
This is the next DC movie to go in front of cameras afterAquaman, which wrapped a few months ago ahead of a November 2018 release date. Warner Bros. is moving forward on a couple of other DC adaptations right now, chieflySuicide Squad 2withGavin O’Connorat the helm—which they hope to start shooting this year—andFlashpoint, which recently landedJonathan GoldsteinandJohn Francis Daleyto direct.
Check out theShazam!filming tease below. The film also starsMark Strong,Grace Fulton, andJack Dylan Grazerand opens in theaters on July 30, 2025.
