‘Shazam!’ Will Acknowledge Henry Cavill’s Superman & Ben Affleck’s Batman

Shazam! director David F. Sandberg revealed that the film acknowledges Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill), and that was always the case.

Back in 2013, Man of Steel starred Henry Cavill as Superman in the first film featuring the character since 2006’s Superman Returns. The film never got a direct sequel but it did spawn the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which also introduced fans to Ben Affleck’s Batman for the first time. In just a few months, fans will be introduced to a new DC Extended Universe hero in Shazam!, featuring Zachary Levi in the titular role.

During a recent sneak preview event for Shazam!, director David F. Sandberg was asked whether or not there was a version of the movie that omitted any acknowledgments of Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck’s iconic characters. David F. Sandberg had this quick and simple response to the question.

“No. That was always there.”

Although fans have been clamoring for Henry Cavill to play Superman in another solo movie since 2013, an official Man of Steel 2 has yet to be announced. Ben Affleck was, at one time, set to write, direct, and star in a solo Batman movie but that is no longer the case. Instead, War For the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves will write and direct the Dark Knight’s next solo outing, which will feature a new actor donning the cape and cowl.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all news regarding Shazam! as soon as more information becomes available. Are you excited about Shazam! hitting theaters in April? Which DCEU hero do you think will make an on-screen cameo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, and Djimon Hounsou.

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).

Shazam! will be released in theaters on April 5, 2019.