Comic-Con: Why the 'Shazam' Trailer Is Unusual for the DC Extended Universe

Like Deadpool said in Deadpool 2, the DC Universe is a bit dark. Shazam!, on the other hand, takes a different tone than other recent superhero movies by featuring someone who’s actually excited to be a superhero and has fun with it.

During Saturday’s Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the first trailer of Shazam! made its debut. Zachary Levi stars as the magical hero and from the teaser, the movie looks like it will play up all the fantasies kids have about being a superhero.

In the film, 14-year-old Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel (Andi Mack, On Pointe), is sent to live in a foster home. When Billy comes to his friend’s aid and takes down some bullies, he gets rewarded by a wizard with the magical powers of Shazam. By saying the word, he transforms into the superhero with incredible powers although he’s still a kid on the inside.

The rest of the trailer shows Shazam learning to use his new powers from trying to fly to powering up people cell phones with just a zap of electricity from his finger. He also meets up with Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, played by Mark Strong (Kingsman, The Imitation Game) who Shazam’s figures out to be the bad guy that can actually stand up to his superpowers.

Directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Ananabelle: Creation), Shazam!* is officially part of the DC Extended Universe that includes, but will take a more light-hearted, family-approach to the superhero formula. The film wrapped production back in May and will come out in theaters on April 5, 2019.

Another DC property that premiered at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con was the new Titan TV series. Unlike Shazam, the new trailer set the tone for the entire series with two words: F—- Batman.