Zachary Levi Throws Playful Jab At Sean Gunn For Landing Yet Another Role In James Gunn’s DC Universe

One of the various 2023 DC movie flops was the release of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” Sure, the film didn’t necessarily reach the same levels (artistically) as the first one, but the box office made it seem as if the sequel was one of the worst films of the year. That’s just not the case. But it did leave a big question for the future—will Zachary Levi’s take on the character carry over into the new DCU continuity created by James Gunn and Peter Safran? Well, it doesn’t seem likely, but Levi is definitely open to the idea of it happening.

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Speaking to Comicbook.com, while promoting the “Chicken Run” sequel, Zachary Levi was asked about the idea of him returning as Shazam for a new DCU project. Obviously, the actor is jazzed by that idea, considering he loved playing the superhero. In fact, Levi is excited by the idea of acting opposite some of the new characters, such as Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, who is appearing in “Superman: Legacy.” 

“I would love to be able to do more iterations of it,” Levi said. “I would love to collaborate with Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern.”

But when the idea of Levi taking on a new role, a non-Shazam character, in the rebooted DCU, he’s unsure if that’s an option. Typically, that wouldn’t be an option, but then the interviewer brings up the recent Sean Gunn casting as Maxwell Lord to show that some of the actors from the original DCEU are being brought over to the new universe. 

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“When you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play who you want,” replied Levi.

Obviously, Levi didn’t mention that as an attack on Sean Gunn or James Gunn, but it does kinda point to one of the biggest criticisms of the casting news recently. When Sean Gunn was confirmed as Maxwell Lord, some fans were crying foul. First, because Gunn already has two confirmed roles in the DCU, as Weasel and G.I. Robot in “Creature Commandos,” the first DCU project coming later this year. However, those are voice roles and wouldn’t show Gunn’s face if ever brought to live-action. That said, he also played Weasel and Calendar Man in the previous Gunn DC film, “The Suicide Squad.” 

All that to say, people were already bringing up the idea that Gunn is giving preferential treatment to his brother and giving him a meatier role in the DCU, in addition to his two voice roles. But to reiterate what Levi said, it’s not like James Gunn is going to ignore his brother and not put him in a role because some fans think it’s unfair. 

Regardless, it would appear that Sean Gunn has numerous roles in the DCU, but Zachary Levi might be left out in the cold. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.