Just yesterday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson cut through the seemingly omnipresent smoke and mirrors surrounding Warner Bros.’ nebulous Shazam film to confirm that he does in fact have an integral role in the upcoming superhero flick. That role, dear readers, is the renown anti-hero Black Adam, which subsequently ignited a flurry of Internet rumours that suggested Johnson himself would make a cameo appearance in the Justice League or, alternatively, Dawn of Justice.
However, it seems as though this cameo may not come to fruition. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, New Line’s president Tony Emmerich touched upon the nature of the DC comic, and how incorporating Shazam into the Warner Bros.’ eventual ensemble piece would be akin to jamming a square peg into a round hole.
“It feels to me like Shazam will have a tone unto itself. It’s a DC comic, but it’s not a Justice League character, and it’s not a Marvel comic. The tone and the feeling of the movie will be different from the other range of comic book movies.”
Alas, ardent fans of the Shazam comic will know all to well that Captain Marvel isn’t a member of the Justice League team in the first place; although, given Warner Bros.’ recent spree of domain registration, many assumed that the character would be incorporated in the ensemble movie or Zack Synder’s upcoming Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice before being granted a standalone film.
Nevertheless, further in the interview Emmerich went on to describe the studio’s approach to Shazam’s cinematic appearance — which is currently being penned by Jack and the Giant Slayer scribe, Darren Lemke. Rather than adhering to the rather trite buzzwords that we’re all used to with Hollywood superhero movies (they rhyme with snark and mitty), Emmerich stated that the production will maintain a “compelling sense of fun.”
Mind you, whether the Shazam film can serve as the refreshingly comedic tonic that, say, Guardians of the Galaxy added to the MCU remains to be seen.