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SYFY WIRE Shazam!

Shazam! tries his best Superman impression in latest trailer for DC solo film

By Josh Weiss
Zachary Levi Shazam

"The Bird" is no longer the word.

"Shazam!" is now the cool phrase to say, thanks to a brand-new trailer for the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie from director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out), which debuted today. Packed with all kinds of chuckle-inducing moments, the teaser— aptly set to Eminem's "My Name Is"—provides a quick rundown of our hero's talents.

Written by Henry Gayden, the film takes place in Philadelphia and follows Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a young orphan who is chosen by an ancient Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) named Shazam. By uttering the wizard's name, Billy transforms into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi) sometimes known as Captain Marvel, which leads to some "kid-doesn't-understand-how-adulting-works-while-in-an-adult-body" hijinks in the vein of Penny Marshall's Big.

Check out the trailer below:

Looking to be the most lighthearted of all the DCEU movies produced so far, Shazam!'s new trailer subverts Henry Cavill's brooding Man of Steel by having its hero trying (and failing) to leap a building in a single bound. There's also a humorous nod to the Caped Crusader with a talking Batman doll.

The movie also stars Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie Kaspbrak in It: Chapter One) as Billy's fellow foster kid/friend, Frederick Freeman. Freddie helps Billy figure out what kind of abilities he has after transforming into Shazam: flight, super-strength, hyper-speed, electricity manipulation, and the power to buy alcohol without need of an ID, to name a few. There's just the little issue of coming up with a cool enough name, because "Captain Sparkle Fingers" doesn't really roll off the tongue, wouldn't you agree?

The central villain, Mark Strong's Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, is a wickedly smart and evil scientist who was not chosen to be The Wizard's champion when he was a child. As a result, his raging bitterness drives him to find a way to destroy Shazam and his champion once and for all through the use of science, not magic. Even so, it looks like he's got his own Sith-y electricity powers that he uses to stop anyone in his way.

During an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, Levi expressed his unbridled excitement over the movie, adding that while he was passed over for the role of Star-Lord in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, he eventually found a superhero role that fit him even better.

“It’s gonna blow my f***in' mind!” he said. "As I researched more and more of Shazam, and Billy Batson, and this world ... [I realized that] this was the role I was always, hopefully, supposed to play ... because I'm just a big f***in' kid," he said.

Shazam! hits theaters April 5.