According to The Wrap, Ron Cephas Jones (THIS IS US, THE GET DOWN, LUKE CAGE) is in talks to play The Wizard in the David F. Sandberg-directed SHAZAM! for Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.
The Wizard is the mysterious and all-powerful figure who grants a young Billy Batson the ability to transform into the adult-sized superhero, Captain Marvel (Zachary Levi). With the combined power of six ancient heroes, Shazam! taps into the following attributes from each deity:
S The wisdom of Solomon;
H The strength of Hercules;
A The stamina of Atlas;
Z The power of Zeus;
A The courage of Achilles;
M The speed of Mercury.
Ah, but there's more to SHAZAM! than just Billy Batson. Also set to appear in the upcoming superhero adventure are the other member of the Marvel family, with Grace Fulton stepping out as Mary Bromfield a.k.a. Mary Marvel; Jack Dylan Grazer acting as Freddy Freeman a.k.a. Captain Marvel Jr. and Ian Chen and Jovan Armand completing Billy's additional foster family as Eugene Choi and Pedro Peña, respectively. Additionally, Mark Strong has recently confirmed that he'll be fulfilling the role of Dr. Sivana, the film's lead villain.
After some recent rescheduling, SHAZAM! is now expected to arrive in theaters on April 5, 2019.