Director James Gunn has tweeted that Shazam is the original version of Captain Marvel.
Actor Zachary Levi was recently cast as the titular character in DC’s upcoming superhero movie Shazam!. Levi has since been referring to the character as the original Captain Marvel, with some folks claiming that this is an insult meant towards Marvel Comics.
This isn’t the way the director of Guardians of the Galaxy sees it, however, as James Gunn – not someone you can call partisan towards DC – backed up Levi’s claim in a recent tweet.
Gunn told his followers: “Fan sites: @ZacharyLevi calling Shazam ‘the original Captain Marvel’ is not throwing shade at Marvel. He IS the original Captain Marvel.”
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/925532489992478720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Fjames-gunn-shazam-original-captain-marvel%2F
Gunn is certainly right in his claim as Billy Batson (Shazam) was created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics in 1939 and went by the name Captain Marvel.
This was the case until DC sued Fawcett for ripping off Superman, causing DC to eventually acquire the rights to Captain Marvel but not before Marvel Comics created a character with the same name, which they thusly trademarked. This meant DC published their comic under the title of Shazam, eventually choosing to officially rename the character following the New 52 relaunch.
SEE ALSO: Zachary Levi comments on his Shazam casting, shares fan art
Shazam is being directed by David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation) and is set to go into production in February ahead of its April 2019 release. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios’ own Captain Marvel movie will start production that very same month and is set to hit cinemas a month earlier in March 2019.
