Mark Strong, who plays evil villain Sivana in Shazam!, has explained why his character hates hero Billy Batson.
Shazam! and its April release date are fast approaching us. We know that Zachary Levi’s Shazam (Billy Batson) and Mark Strong’s Dr. Thaddeus Sivana will be going head to head but just why does Sivana hate Billy so much?
Strong, in an interview with ComicBook.com, spoke about what motivates the character and his confusion at why the Wizard would bestow this kid Billy with incredible magical powers:
“He can’t understand it. You know, he can’t understand that the Wizard has chosen this boy as his champion. Yet, the Wizard’s chosen a boy, and he realizes that obviously that boy manifests his self into the man, the Zachary [Levi] version of Shazam, and to him, it’s a source of total incomprehension, why this boy should have been chosen over him. It just justifies him in his quest to unify the good force and the evil force, and be in control of all of it.”
Strong has tried his hand at DC villainy before as Sinestro in the poorly received Green Lantern movie but fingers crossed Shazam! better showcases the actor’s talents and dastardly capabilities.
SEE ALSO: Shazam! extended TV spot is packed with new footage
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Zachary Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).
Shazam will see Zachary Levi starring as the titular superhero, with Asher Angel as his young alter-ego Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Grace Fulton as Mary Marvel, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard, Adam Brody as Freddie Freeman, Ross Butler as Eugene Choi, D. J. Cotrona as Pedro Pena, Meagan Good as Darla Dudley, and Michelle Borth as Mary Bromfield. The film is set for release on April 5th 2019.
