Warner Bros and DC’s management shake-ups are known to us all. Not just that, their fiasco became a global phenomenon with fans rallying against them to release Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League which was mercilessly botched by the studio’s previous toxic execs. With Peter Safran and James Gunn now at the helm, DC’s future looks bright and in safe hands.
Prior to their appointment as co-chairs, films like Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Shazam kept fans together as the interconnected universe had started to usher into a new era of telling each character’s story before putting them all “together.”
The execs soon realized that they had to put out a family Christmas movie in order to save the failing state of affairs back then. That’s how we got our Shazam! Although, it may come to us as a “surprise” that he had originally passed on the role – what?
Why Did Zachary Levi Reject Shazam?
Starting his acting career with television back in 2002, Zachary Levi has come a long way in Hollywood. The show that got him fame in the industry was Chuck which he carried successfully for five years.
After that, he went on to appear as Fandral in Thor and Thor: The Dark World, only to be killed away instantly in Thor: Ragnarök. After being in the film industry for almost two decades, he hadn’t been able to land a role that could define his career.
His lack of self-confidence and anxiety issues got the best of him and he had to undergo therapy to get his life back together. It was around 2017 when DC had been cooking up Shazam and wanted a suitable actor for the role. They wanted Zachary Levi on board but the actor rejected the role due to his depression.
‘This’ Actor Was Desperate To Replace Zachary Levi As Shazam!
With a rather turbulent and cash-monger leadership back then at WB and DC, new directors were being brought to direct budget superhero films in order to cut costs. This had probably been the reason why the studio wanted to hire an actor with a bleak portfolio.
One particular actor the execs were interested in was Zane Holtz who played Chris in Ezra Miller’s Perks of Being a Wallflower alongside Emma Watson. Holtz has been in various projects, out of which most were television series, such as Make It or Break It, From Dusk Till Dawn, and the more recent Riverdale to name a few.
Apart from him, the studio had other shortlisted candidates, such as John Cena, Billy Magnussen, and Jake McDorman. Holtz however came closest to bagging the role as he had auditioned and screen tested with other characters in the film. But the production team ultimately felt that Zachary Levi might be able to pull the film way better – which he did!
According to a Variety report back in June, Levi will be next seen leading the ensemble of the thriller Not Without Hope as Nick Schuyler who survived the boating incident back in 2009. The release date is however undisclosed.
Source: The Things
