As we get ready to hear what the future may hold for the DC Extended Universe following Justice League at the San Diego Comic Con, The Hollywood Reporter has news of the next DC feature that Warner Bros. is planning to shoot.
According to the outlet, Shazam! will be the next DC film to roll beginning in January or February of 2018. As rumoured, the film will be helmed by David F. Sandberg, who is directing Annabelle: Creation for WB’s sister company New Line. Peter Safran, who is producing Annabelle: Creation as well as James Wan’s Aquaman, is apparently in negotiations to reunite with Sandberg and produce the film. Shamaz! will likely be released in 2019.
This news comes on the heels of WB adding two mystery DC films to its 2020 slate. We will probably find out more about those films, as well as Shazam!, over the course of SDCC. Other potential DC films include Joss Whedon’s Batgirl, a sequel to Suicide Squad which is currently looking for a director and a Gotham City Sirens film with original Suicide Squad director David Ayer hattached. Due to the major success of Wonder Woman, WB is also developing a sequel with Patty Jenkins.
Meanwhile, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has been cast as Shazam’s nemesis Black Adam, but THR reports that it is unclear whether he will feature in Shazam!. Johnson will however produce and star in his own Black Adam film which will be developed concurrently to Shazam!. We’ll see what the weekend’s announcements bring us…
UPDATE: DC’s Geoff Johns has now confirmed to Yahoo! Movies that The Rock will not be in the movie, stating that: “We haven’t announced any casting yet. But Dwayne isn’t going to be in this movie. He’s still doing Black Adam, but he won’t be in Shazam!”
Originally published July 21, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
