David F. Sandberg Says He’s Going for a More ‘Lighthearted’ Movie With ‘Shazam!’

There’s pretty much no way the DCEU could make a Shazam! movie and keep the same dire, Twilight of the Gods tone of previous entries like Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman. The superhero’s secret identity is a child, Billy Batson, who, when he shouts “SHAZAM!” transforms into an adult with all the powers of Superman. So he’s Superman, but with none of the sense of responsibility. What’s more fun than that? Director David F. Sandberg says he’ll obviously be sticking with a lighter mood for this movie.

Sandberg told the Toronto Sun that he plans to make Shazam! one of the more fun DCEU movies. Shouldn’t be too hard.

The big attraction for me with that character is the fact that every kid dreams of being Superman, right? I mean I certainly did, and (Billy Batson) is a kid that gets that chance. He gets to become the superhero. So it’ll be big with superpowers in a way. In terms of what people can expect, I think this will be one of the more fun or lighthearted movies so far in the DC universe. It certainly will be a departure.

This is also in keeping with the DCEU’s recent attempted rebranding of its superheroes to be a little more fun, a little more quippy. Wonder Woman had way more jokes than its predecessors, and the latest looks we’ve gotten at Justice League focus a lot more on the Flash and Aquaman’s one-liners. Plus, Dwayne Johnson is playing Shazam villain Black Adam, and The Rock is all about having a good time.

Shazam! will start production sometime in the early months of 2018, for a tentative release in 2019.