Shazam! project to be retooled: Enter The Black Adam

[Norrin Radd]

No, not really...but apparently they're turning to a "darker" direction...

John August's Shazam! Not Happening

Screenwriter John August (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is speaking out on his blog about his long-in-development Captain Marvel project, originally for New Line and then taken over by Warner Bros. during the merger last year. Based on the Fawcett Comics character created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker in 1939, Shazam! was going to be directed by Get Smart director Peter Segal. In fact, there was a Warner Bros. press release roughly six weeks ago, which you can read here, confirming Segal was still attached to direct the project based on August's script.

Superhero Hype! has spoken to both John August and Peter Segal a number of times in recent years about the developing project, both of whom confirmed it would be handled as an action-comedy. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had pretty much been sewn up to play Captain Marvel baddie Black Adam. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Warner Bros. is interested in John August's comedic direction for the character anymore, despite that being the way the character was mostly depicted in comic books over the past 70 years.

On the blog, August goes into great detail about his dealings with New Line and Warner Bros. both before and after last year's writers strike and how communication stalled when it felt like Warner Bros. wasn't on the same page to do an action-comedy take on the character that could appeal to younger kids as well as adults. Rather, they seemed to want to go into darker territory following the success of The Dark Knight.

It's fascinating reading for those who've been following the project or are interested in the behind-the-scenes of the development of a comic book based film project, but August's lament about the project concludes with:

By the time I got back, the project was dead. By "dead," I mean that it won't be happening. I don't think it's on the studio's radar at all. It may come back in another incarnation, with another writer, but I can say with considerable certainty that it won't be the version I developed.

You can read the entire story of the way the project has seemingly stalled over on John August's blog.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=7957

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

gee, why not make it the best of both worlds, dark and comic-lite? thus dark comedy.

this movie's screaming to be PG-13 anyways.

 

[Dick Whitman]

gee, why not make it the best of both worlds, dark and comic-lite? thus dark comedy.

this movie's screaming to be PG-13 anyways.

ummmm explain this????

Nothing about the character suggests that to me.

Plus its misses the point. WB wants The Dark Knight style darkness. Which is frustrating because it means they are going to try and replicate that tone for other superheroes even if not appropriate.

 

[MarianLH]

The brain cloud strikes again. The Dark Knight was a success, so all superhero movies must be like The Dark Knight.


Marian

 

[davejames]

Um, did they not notice the HUGE success of the light and fun Iron Man from the same exact year??

To listen to the WB, you'd think TDK was the only superhero movie that's ever been successful.

 

[Kryton]

And I really liked this 'shop someone did, too.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I was afraid this was going to happen.

I love TDK. Saw it 3 times in the theaters. But I have been bemused at how fanboys have been patting themselves on the back over its success. Thinking we are responsibility because we approved of its faithfulness to the comics. Now we have assumed that we have achieved future faithful comic adaptations...

LOL!

Nice Fantasy!

General audiences made this film a success. PERIOD. They liked that is was dark and gritty. Now Hollywood is going to respond the way it always does.
Changing everything to fit that.

Iron Man? Also a general audience success. But largely due to Robert Downey Jr. It seems Hollywood does not know yet how it to copy that. They are attributing its fun tone to his performance alone.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Shazam should try and appeal to the Harry Potter demo not the Dark Knight.

 

[slappy]

Um, did they not notice the HUGE success of the light and fun Iron Man from the same exact year??

Iron Man was fun, but it wasn't exactly "light". Between the terrorists, kidnapping, long cardiac arrests, and death....I don't think that word is exactly appropriate.

Do people really want Shazam! to be a kiddie movie?

 

[davejames]

Um, did they not notice the HUGE success of the light and fun Iron Man from the same exact year??

Iron Man was fun, but it wasn't exactly "light". Between the terrorists, kidnapping, long cardiac arrests, and death....I don't think that word is exactly appropriate.

Do people really want Shazam! to be a kiddie movie?

Well I was just speaking in comparison to TDK. And it certainly wasn't a dark movie. The terrorists weren't any scarier than your standard action movie bad guys, for one thing.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Shazam should try and appeal to the Harry Potter demo not the Dark Knight.

I agree. It's about a boy who discovers he has powers. An orphan boy. It should have the tone of Harry Potter, the Goonies, etc., those kid adventures that were thrilling, not overtly complex, grim tales.

It could have a much large net that way, families could go and see it and there would be something for everyone.

It doesn't have to be a straight up comedy, nor a grim tragedy. There are other things in between.

 

[Kryton]

Though they made Billy younger than I'd've liked, I thought they handled him pretty well in his big JLU appearance. His story advanced the larger arc, he showed his more innocent side, I loved seeing Cap hero worshiping Supes and such and frankly, I respected his decision to walk.

 

[JoeZhang]

Billy can get sexually abused by the Wizard - that should make it darker.

 

[TemporalFlux]

The underlying truth here is that Warner's does not understand why the Dark Knight was popular (the execs are likely looking at each other and saying, "Can you believe people bought this?"), so they're replicating as much of the movie as they can thinking that certainly they'll bring along the successful part if they just transplant.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

The underlying truth here is that Warner's does not understand why the Dark Knight was popular (the execs are likely looking at each other and saying, "Can you believe people bought this?"), so they're replicating as much of the movie as they can thinking that certainly they'll bring along the successful part if they just transplant.

What can I say, but-Serves you all right!

Maybe if you all had made Superman Returns the hit that it should have been, you wouldn't have to worry about TDK's infecting of everything else movie wise. Warner's is only doing what most of you want-remember that when you think about this.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I thought Superman Returns was kind of "dark". I mean, even his costume was toned down.

 

[TheArsenal]

Shazam should try and appeal to the Harry Potter demo not the Dark Knight.

I agree. It's about a boy who discovers he has powers. An orphan boy. It should have the tone of Harry Potter, the Goonies, etc., those kid adventures that were thrilling, not overtly complex, grim tales.

With a hero whose cast includes talking suit wearing tigers and mind controlling worms, it is probably easier to go this route than to retool it into something it is not.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

I thought Superman Returns was kind of "dark". I mean, even his costume was toned down.

Not to me, it wasn't. His costume was the same color as in the previous trilogy, and as in the comic books as well. I don't see any real difference between the Chris Reeve version and the Brandon Routh version, other than that the costume in Superman Returns is made from a different type of material. Also, the only thing that was 'dark' was Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Lex Luthor, as it should have.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The colors were actually a little darker. I think the designer even mentions it in some of the extras

 

[TemporalFlux]

Warner's is only doing what most of you want-remember that when you think about this.

So if we would have made Returns popular, then every Warner's super-hero movie could have had dead-beat dads, too little action, cannibalistic dogs and stupid real estate schemes? I truly am chagrined.