Zachary Levi is ready to return to comic book movies, if James Gunn has a spot for him in the new DCU.
In a new interview with FeatureFirst, the “Shazam!” actor expressed interest in returning in Gunn and Peter Safran‘s rebooted superhero franchise, either as Shazam! or an entirely new comic character. “Oh, yeah! Listen, I love playing Shazam! It was one of the most fun experiences,” Levi told the outlet. “I grew up watching Christopher Reeves‘ “Superman” and Tom Hanks in “Big,” and I got to be both in one role. And he’s such a fun role. I love my Shazamly, as we affectionately call it; every one of those actors, young and old. We really shared an awesome experience over two movies.”
READ MORE: Zachary Levi Is Reportedly Bitter: Thought ‘Shazam!’ Would Make Him The Next Chris Evans
“So, yeah, if James and the powers that be said, ‘we’d love to bring you back as Shazam!’ or if there were some other DC character…[I’d do it],” continued the actor. “I love comic books, I’ve been reading them since I was a kid, so long as it was something that was really worthy, like a character or a story that was “oh wow, that’s new and that’s different, that’s a flavor we haven’t really seen yet before.” Levi played Shazam! in two films, the 2019 original and its 2023 sequel, subtitled “Fury Of The Gods.” The first was a healthy box office hit for Warner Bros., while the latter didn’t meet the studio’s expectations critically or commercially. As of right now, Shazam! hasn’t factored into Gunn’s upcoming plans for the DCU.
Of course, what moviegoers remember most about “Fury Of the Gods” at this point is Levi’s public crashout after it hit theaters. The actor pointed a lot of fingers at parties over the sequel’s failure, namely at Dwayne Johnson‘s ego-driven efforts to squash a planned post-credits sequence between Shazam! and Black Adam. Levi also directed blame at toxic “online hate” for the film’s middling box office performance. Subsequent roles for the actor in “Spy Kids: Armageddon,” “Harold And The Purple Crayon,” and “Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget” also didn’t do great business, with THR reporting last year that Levi remains bitter over where “Shazam!” ended up as a franchise. “When he was cast as Shazam!, it was literally his dream,” an anonymous inside source told the outlet. “He thought this was his ticket to being The Rock or Chris Evans. But it didn’t happen for him, and he’s bitter about that.”
Levi remains active, with three movie roles in 2025 and another on the way next year in “Hotel Tehran.” However, his online response to the poor showing of “Fury Of The Gods” reeked of desperation and entitlement. And then there’s the actor’s endorsement of President Donald Trump, last year, a public maneuver that reads as a calculated attempt to further endear himself to faith-based conservatives, the target audience for most of his recent film work. Add in the fact that Levi moved out of LA to Texas shortly after “Fury Of The Gods” didn’t meet expectations, and it looks like the actor deliberately pivoted away from working in Hollywood. Funny how, about two years later, he’s now singing a different tune.
Levi ended his comments about working with Gunn in the new DCU with, “I think it would be a lot of fun.” Perhaps, but would it be a lot of fun for Gunn & co. to work with Levi? The actor may be right about Johnson’s massive ego nixing a Shazam!-Black Adam crossover, but his recent behavior makes it clear he has ego problems of his own to worry about, too. And issues like that tend to make someone persona non grata to work with, in the movie industry or any other business. In short, maybe don’t wait for that call from James Gunn, Zachary, as actions like yours tend to have consequences.
