Prior to next week’s Comic-Con, Djimon Hounsou has been announced to be cast in the David F. Sandberg-directed Shazam! movie.
Djimon Hounsou, who recently starred in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, has been cast as the Wizard in Shazam!, the sorcerer who gives young Billy Batson his powers.
Ron Cephas Jones was previously said to be cast as the Wizard, but that didn’t happen due to a scheduling issue.
Djimon Hounsou is also set to return to his Marvel role as Korath in Captain Marvel, which recently finished filming.
Look for the Shazam! trailer to be released Saturday July 21 at Comic-Con during the WB Films panel.
Shazam! has an April 5, 2019 release starring Zachary Levi as the titular DC Super Hero; Asher Angel as Billy Batson; Mark Strong in the role of Super-Villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana; Jack Dylan Grazer as Billy’s best friend and ultimate superhero enthusiast, Freddy, part of the foster family that includes Mary, played by Grace Fulton; Darla, played by Faithe Herman; Eugene, played by Ian Chen, and Pedro, played by Jovan Armand. Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans play foster parents Victor and Rosa Vasquez, with Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard.
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).
(via EW)
