Zachary Levi was the butt of many jokes following the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The actor has finally responded to criticisms of his acting choices in the DC Universe sequel.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods fell flat with a lot of people for a lot of reasons. However, one of the most cited across the internet was Zachary Levi’s performance as the grown-up version of Billy Batson, with many mocking him for being more childish than the child actors. Levi responded to these criticisms in a recent interview, revealing the choice was made on purpose to grow with the character.
“From the first movie to the second, I tried to age him as Billy ages, you know, in his actual younger teen form. Inside, he’s aging too,” Levi told ScreenRant. “Obviously, in the first film, he was like 15, and in the second he’s 17ish, almost 18.”
“So I tried to address that and bring that into the character, which ironically, in some ways, kind of made him feel almost a little more immature. But that’s because when he’s 15, he’s not trying to be cool guy, when he’s 17, he’s trying to be cool guy, he’s trying to be the leader, and he’s trying to kind of put on that bravado more.”
While Zachary Levi certainly had his reasons for acting the way he did, it’s clear that version of the character didn’t land with viewers of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. While it’s possible he could have changed course in a future DC Universe project, the performance of the sequel signals that Levi’s time as the hero is sadly over.
The talent behind the Shazam! sequel
David F. Sandberg directed Shazam! Fury of the Gods from a script written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The film stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Millans, Cooper Andrews, Djimon Hounsou, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren.
The official Shazam! Fury of the Gods synopsis reads as follows: “Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with having adult Super Hero alter-egos. But when the Daughters of Atlas, a vengeful trio of ancient gods, arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Billy—aka Shazam—and his family are thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of their world.”
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