Rumor: Superman will make his next appearance in Shazam!

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

JUSTICE LEAGUE may not have landed with the kind of impact the studio and fans hoped it would, but there were some bright spots people seemed to agree upon. One of them was the return of Superman (Henry Cavill), who despite very noticeable CGI plastic surgery, won over audiences with a newly adopted optimism. We will likely see Supes again, but when is the question. According to a new report, we may very well be seeing the Man of Steel on screen in a little over a year’s time.

A rumor coming out of Revenge of the Fans claims that the upcoming movie, SHAZAM!, from David F. Sandberg will feature the flying Kryptonian. How important his role will be and to what capacity he will appear is unknown, but the report states that a young Billy Batson (Asher Angel) looks up to Superman as an inspirational figure, all before becoming his own muscular hero, Shazam (Zachary Levi).

According to the source, WB has had some trouble figuring out where to place Superman next. Dwayne Johnson apparently wants Superman to appear in the solo movie for Black Adam (played by Johnson), but that movie is taking time to get going because of Johnson's heavy schedule. Then there's another MAN OF STEEL movie, and pre-release buzz for JUSTICE LEAGUE made Warner Bros. want to get that on the fast-track. The engines stalled on that though after middling response LEAGUE. However, WB still wants to make the Superman sequel, but also doesn't want to wait for ADAM to start shooting. Therefore, word is they came to an agreement for Supes to make an appearance in SHAZAM! to keep the character in people's minds. The studio is supposedly aiming for MOS 2 to come out in 2020, and could even announce a more specific release date and director at this year’s San Comic-Conic Con.

All of this should be taken with a bit of salt, but it's fun to speculate on how Superman would factor into the movie. Would he just be seen and admired by Batson from afar, or would the hero take on a mentorship role like Tony Stark did in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING? We will probably know more about SHAZAM!, and hopefully, MAN OF STEEL 2 come Comic-Con, but for now just add this spoke to the already massive DC rumor mill. 

SHAZAM! hits theaters April 5, 2019.