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Film website We Got This Covered is reporting that John Cena is rumored to be a frontrunner to play Shazam! in the feature film adaptation of the long-running comic book character. The character of Shazam! (formerly known as Captain Marvel) is a superhero who is actually a young teenage boy named Bill Batson. Given the power of the Gods by a wizard of the same name, when Batston speaks the word Shazam!, he is turned into a super-powered adult. Think Tom Hanks' Big with super-powers.
The character was originally created in 1939 by Fawcett Comics and became some popular so quickly that at the time, the book actually threatened Superman's popularity. Superman owner DC Comics sued over copyright infringement, leading to Fawcett shuttering the comic. DC eventually purchased the entire Fawcett Line of comics, including the character and folded it into their comic line and history. In 2011, DC re-named the entire character "Shazam!" to prevent confusion with Marvel Comic's own, unrelated Captain Marvel character.
The Shazam! film was originally slated for 2016 as part of the DC Comics Cinematic Universe plan featuring connected characters and films, in Warner Bros.' attempt to play catch-up to the more successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film has been pushed back a number of times. The Rock has been attached to play villain Black Adam in the film, although more recent reports have indicated Rock will play the character, but not in the initial Shazam! film. The film is currently expected to film by 2019.
To read the We Got This Covered report, click here.
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