James Gunn took to Twitter to side with Zachary Levi’s claim thatShazam!is the originalCaptain Marvel.Shazam!will be the next DC comics movie to begin production, following the releases ofJustice LeagueandAquaman.David F. Sandberg is on board to directwhile it was only recently announced that Zachary Levi is playing the title character. In addition to being an accomplished actor, Levi is also a huge comic book fan and knows a lot about the history, which is whyGuardians of the Galaxydirector James Gunn is coming to his defense.
Zachary Levi was confirmed as Shazam!by Warner Bros. late last week and the actor immediately began calling the character the originalCaptain Marvel, which set the internet ablaze with controversy. Many thought that Levi was throwing some shade to the rival MCU since they have their ownCaptain Marvelcharacter. Brie Larson is starring asCaptain Marvelfor the MCU inAvengers 4and her own standalone movie that is expected to go into production early next year. As it turns out, Zachary Levi is correct, DC had the firstCaptain Marveland James Gunn has his back. TheGuardians of the Galaxydirector commented on Twitter that Zachary Levi is correct aboutShazam!being the firstCaptain Marvel. James Gunn had this to say.
“Fan sites: (Zachary Levi) callingShazam"the originalCaptain Marvel” is not throwing shade at Marvel. He IS the originalCaptain Marvel."
James Gunn is also a huge comic book fan and he also knows the history. When it comes toShazam!, Gunn declared a few years ago that if he could direct anysuperhero movie, he would have chosenShazam!and has talked about his love for all comics, regardless of who publishes them.
The characterShazam!as we know him today, started asCaptain Marvel. Captain Marvel was a boy namedBilly Batsonwho had the power to transform into a powerful hero by saying “Shazam!,” and was originally created in 1939 by writer Bill Parker and artist C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Marvel Comics as we know it today did not exist at this time.Shazam!was extremely popular in the 1940s, but National Comics, which was DC Comics at the time, felt that the character’s overall look and powers were basically just a bad rip off of their ownSuperman. Afterwards, a legal battle took place which eventually led to Fawcett agreeing to stop publication ofShazam!
In the early 1970s,DC Comicsdecided to license and revive the old Fawcett characters, but by then, Marvel Comics was in full swing and had already trademarked their own character with the nameCaptain Marvel, which has gone through many changes over the years. Since Marvel now had the rights to the character name, DC was then forced to refer to the originalCaptain Marvelby a different name, and choseShazam!as the character’s new name. So, technically, Zachary Levi and James Gunn are correct. Levi is not taunting comic book fans that know their history. Check out the history lesson viaJames Gunn’s Twitteraccount below.
