How Dwayne Johnson’s Shazam! will fit into the DCEU

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Yes, SHAZAM! is still happening and it will indeed be a part of the DC Extended Universe, but beyond a few details here and there, we really haven't heard all that much about the Dwayne Johnson film. With the recent bad press that Warner Bros. and the DCEU have received over the past few months, Dwayne Johnson's producing partner Dany Garcia told Newsweek that neither she nor Johnson are worried about the audience's reaction to DC's recent projects.

Despite "living in the same world" as BATMAN V SUPERMAN, SUICIDE SQUAD, and the rest, Garcia said that they will "have incredible autonomy over this brand and franchise. We are working with a different team, different producers, directors… it's a different set-up." As Dwayne Johnson has been enthusiastic about the project for the better part of a decade, perhaps they're looking to reassure fans that SHAZAM! won't be encumbered by the same issues which seem to plague the other DCEU films. To that end, Dany Garcia said that "don't feel fettered by, or constrained by, the successes or failures and challenges of the other projects. That was a key component to our participation—that we be able to control the tone and the voice, and do it the way we want to." Development on SHAZAM! is still in the early stages but Garcia was able to give a small update as to where they are in the process.

We’re getting [script] drafts in… it’s important to make sure we get the tone right for Black Adam, which is Dwayne’s part. We don’t mind taking our time. We’re being very careful with each act and scene to go back and layer in as much as possible. We’ve got so many wonderful superhero franchises out there… we don’t need to run away from them and say ‘we can’t be that,’ but it’s important to understand what are the best aspects of a Batman [movie] versus Avengers versus Deadpool? What are the elements people are responding to? We want to move the needle.

SHAZAM! is set for a April 5, 2019 release but Dwayne Johnson's next, MOANA, will arrive on November 23, 2016.