Shazam! director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran tease LGBT+ superhero in the movie. (Warner Bros.)
There is a new superhero in town as Warner Bros.’ Shazam! hits cinemas on Friday, April 5, and the film’s director and producer are teasing that it may feature a LGBT+ superhero.
Shazam! is the heartwarming, family-fuelled story of Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel), a teenager who is bestowed with superhero powers and has the ability to transform into an adult-size superhero by saying, “Shazam!” Zachary Levi stars as the adult Billy Batson.
Speaking to PinkNews about the dearth of LGBT+ superheroes in Hollywood films, Shazam! director David F. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran teased that a LGBT+ hero could be on its way as soon as April 5.
Shazam! LGBT superhero is coming
“Don’t want to put spoilers [out there] or anything … but I think you will see one sooner rather than later,” Sandberg teased to PinkNews.
Coaxed for more details, Safran told PinkNews: “I think on April 5th it will become clear…”
April 5 is, of course, the release date for Shazam! The plot thickens…
Watch the interview with the Shazam! cast and crew below:
Elsewhere, Shazam! co-star Mark Strong, who plays villain Thaddeus Sivana, told PinkNews he thinks it’s time for a LGBT+ superhero in a major Hollywood film.
Shazam!’s Mark Strong: ‘It’s time’ for LGBT superhero
“[I don’t think we’re] very far at all,” said Strong. “Society is changing—people are becoming much more inclusive, they’re becoming aware of people who have been excluded.
“The more the merrier, I say. I think it’s time.”
Disney’s Marvel Studios and Warner Bros., the two film studios that dominate the comic book movie landscape, have yet to feature a lead character who is LGBT. Warner Bros. released its first female superhero-fronted film—Wonder Woman—in 2017, while Marvel just recently released its first female hero-fronted movie, Captain Marvel.
Shazam! star Zachary Levi teases showdown with The Rock’s Black Adam
Shazam! star Zachary Levi told PinkNews he wasn’t aware of Shazam, the superhero first introduced in DC Comics in 1939, before researching the role. But he quickly grew an affinity to the part.
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