Posted in: Movies, Shazam, Warner Bros | Tagged: dc, dc studios, james gunn, Sean Gunn, shazam, shazam: fury of the gods, warner bros discovery

Shazam's Zachary Levi Burns His DC Goodwill To The Ground For A Joke

Shazam! star Zachary Levi has likely just lost any of the goodwill he had left at DC Studios by making a cheap joke about Sean Gunn.

As the release date for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom approaches, so does the end of films that were greenlit before Warner Bros. Discovery decided to overhaul the DC Universe completely. The three entries that came out before Aquaman didn't give the studio a lot of confidence that people were still interested in these versions of these characters. Blue Beetle got kneecapped by the strikes and while it did well critically, it commercially bombed. Of the films released so far, this is the one that James Gunn and Peter Safran seem keen to keep, and with good reason. The Flash was a head-to-toe disaster we hadn't seen in a long time. People did not like the film, and to say it bombed would be an understatement. It might be one of Warner Bros.'s biggest failures in the last decade. Then there is Shazam! Fury of the Gods which was the canary in the coalmine that 2023 might not be a good year for DC.

Shazam! Probably Isn't Coming Back After These Comments

The first film is one of the better films that have come out of this version of the DC universe (don't @ me), so this sequel had a lot further to fall, and fall it did. It wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't very good, and its box office reflected that. It underperformed and now seemed like a warning for all of the other DC movies set to come out this year. Right now, Aquaman is trying to be the only success story, but early numbers are not looking promising. This has been a bummer for the actors involved because there was this lingering knowledge that they likely wouldn't have a job after this film, and fans were less inclined to get invested in characters they would likely never see again. We are reaching the end of this road, and people want to know what these actors think, and some of them are talking.

ComicBook.com got the chance to speak to Shazam! star Zachary Levi about the new Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget film for Netflix, but of course, he was asked about DC because, of course, he was. Levi dropped some of the usual things we hear from conversations like this. When asked if there have been more conversations about his version of this character returning to the new DC Universe, Levi shook his head and said, "No, there hasn't been; it's all way above my paygrade. I'm really proud of both films. I really think the second film was, in some respects, better than the first. And the first was really good. I'm really proud of both of them." He acknowledges that the box office wasn't what people wanted but doesn't know how much that played a role. He also says that if he only gets to play this character in two films, then he is so grateful. "I would love to be able to do more iterations of it," he said. "I would love to collaborate with Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern."

The interviewer went on to ask if Levi would be interested in returning but as a new character. He cites Jason Momoa returning, though that hasn't been 100% confirmed anywhere, and also Sean Gunn. Levi seemed slightly confused by Sean Gunn and even said he wasn't established in the DC universe. Levi says he was established in Marvel but not in DC. However, the interviewer points out Sean Gunn's brief cameo appearance in The Suicide Squad as Calendar Man and possibly the motion capture work for Weasel while saying he was recently confirmed as Max Lord. Levi replies with what was probably supposed to be a joke, but no one will take it as one, "When you're the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play who you want."

Even as a joke, that's really rude for Sean Gunn, who hasn't just acted in stuff his brother does. I hope Gilmore Girls fans come out in numbers to set Levi straight on this one. So, while the statement isn't as bad as social media makes it sound, it was a low blow and something that didn't need to be said. Sean Gunn has been hustling as an actor for two decades now, and this joke undercuts all of that work to say nepotism is the only reason he got the role. Did it play a role in him getting it? Yes, but was it the only reason? No, and that joke likely just lost the Shazam! star any goodwill he had left at DC.

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