#Shazam 2 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

scarlettrue · 2 months ago

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Alright, fuck it, Shazam pitch (it’ll be in multiple parts because different stuff goes into it like continuity and so on). So, here’s

PART 1 OF THE SHAZAM ANIMATED SERIES PITCH

(Also sorry for the use of the Zach Levi gifs, I promise he’ll have nothing to do with this)

Okay, so first of all, we gotta deal with

PREVIOUS DCEU CONTINUITY AND THE DCU

So, I’m sure many people are wondering how this will work, we don’t know exactly how it’ll work with what’s confirmed to be brought back (I.e. Blue Beetle, Peacemaker, Amanda Waller, etc.) but I assume some aspects from DCEU canon will be kept, while others will be left to die, so this post, we‘ll discuss what elements, character and plot from the first two movie (and maybe Black Adam idk) that we’ll be keeping.

Plot elements:

So, plot elements, what elements from the plot and characters are we gonna keep?

First of all, I’m keeping most of the events of both films, however, there will be some changes from the films, mainly Superman and Wonder Woman, and Fury of the Gods mid-credits scene.

The versions of Superman and Wonder Woman will obviously be different because they already are/will be recast for the new universe. This will change background stuff like the newspapers related to Superman Freddy kept in the first film, including no MoS like event being canon (THANK FUCKING GOD ITS NOT GONNA BE CANON). Same with Wonder Woman, she’ll be played by a new actress who’ll be played by a new actresses in the series (GOOD RIDDANCE ZIONIST AND TERRIBLE ACTRESSES GAL GADOT), though Fury of the Gods ending will be different, we’ll get to it in a minute.

As for Fury of the Gods mid-credit scene, it doesn’t make sense. Waller being connected to the Justice Society of America (JSA) has never made sense no matter how you look at it, and Economos and Harcourt recruiting Billy for the JSA is ass backwards. Waller being connected to the JSA is from Black Adam and can be ignored. The mid-credits scene with Economos and Harcourt is going to also be massively redone, and will include JSA members as originally intended (Economos and Harcourt are the ones to recruit Billy in the mid-credits scene because of the production of Black Adam wanting nothing to do with Shazam, as well as the fact that both Shazam films, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker share the same producer, who is also the co-ceo of DC). We’ll discuss the JSA members who will recruit Billy soon ish lol.

As for what I’m keeping, it’s mostly everything else. From Billy being abandoned by his mother, to going from foster home to foster home trying to find her, getting adopted by the Vasquez family, getting his powers from the Wizard, being a little shit with the powers and getting into a fight with his brother, fighting Sivana, confronting his mom, saving his new family, giving them superpowers, defeating Sivana, being shitty superheroes, Freddy meeting a goddess, the city getting domed off, fighting the gods, the family and goddess Anthea losing their powers, Billy finishing the fight, Billy dying and getting resurrected (but not by Wonder Woman, gasp), and getting recruited to the JSA (by members of the JSA.

It’s a lot, but I think the films work for the most part, and actually work to set up Shazam as a powerful guy who can make a difference on multiple scales, but because of his lack of branding and other heroes in the universe, he’s still a nobody hero when compared to Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman, and status wise, is closer to heroes like Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, and so on (which is where he was when Justice League International was released, which is what the DCU seems to be based off of).

Also, no, for this pitch you won’t have to have watched Shazam 1 or 2 to understand this, as it’ll be recapped in the beginning in a similar manner to Across the Spider-Verse, so you’d be able to just jump into the series with no prior knowledge, which is what the DCU is already aiming for with who is returning for it (ie John Cena Peacemaker and Xolo Maridueña Blue Beetle). Now that that’s worked out, let’s discuss-

RETURNING AND NON-RETURNING CAST

Alright, now with the casting. I want to bring most of the cast from the films back, along with the JSS from Black Adam because I think they were all well cast and deserve second chances in films that don’t involve the Rock or behind the scenes bull shittery caused by the Rock.

HOWEVER, I would not bring Zachery Levi back as the adult counterpart Shazam for multiple reasons, the big one being his very recent decent into madness and recent political endorsements(which are very orange). However, his portrayal was already questioned by multiple viewers who enjoyed the sequel. A lot of people I’ve seen prefer Asher Angel’s Billy Batson over Levi’s Shazam, and I don’t blame them. Billy in Shazam 2 is much more mature, and while I understand what Levi was going for, portraying a kid who feels he can act more youthful in adult superhero form, but he went way to far in the immature direction and he loses the forest for the trees. That coupled with Levi’s recent decent, I wouldn’t bring him back, and instead, Asher Angel would play both parts.

Another reason why I want Asher Angel to play both parts is because I want Billy Batson to be able to grow up. It’s something that rarely happens with him, and I feel like he’s one of THE superheroes that can show many kids that growing up is okay. That it’s okay if it goes slowly, just enjoy it and don’t be afraid of growing up as you get older. A superhero that reflects truly would’ve meant the world to me (it’s why I like MCU Spider-Man, because he was that for me in a way) but Shazam, it can be so much more explicit and cathartic for kids and adults. I’ll get more into that in the next part when I talk about the character arcs for the central characters. But, let’s go through everyone I’m bringing back

Asher Angel as Billy Batson/Shazam

Sorry for the lack of images. But yeah, as I’ve mentioned multiple times, we’re bringing back Asher Angel, but her won’t be the only one playing both versions of their character. I want to see Asher Angel be able to actually play the superhero and show how Billy is different whenever he’s his normal self and whenever he’s Shazam. Plus, I have a feeling he can be really really funny as well. It’d also also be really nice to see him as Shazam interact with characters like Corenswet’s Superman, JSA members I’ll talk about soon, Xolo’s Blue Beetle, and so on, as well as seeing him become a part of the Justice League or Justice League International.

Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman

I did say most of the cast, so just prepare for repetition. I really like him as Freddy, he’s very goofy, and I also like would like to see him in his heroic form as well, again, I’d like to just see what he’d do with the heroic side, as well as how he’d change his voice in some since Freddy is the one I imagine would change his voice when in heroic form. We’ll also delve more into Freddy and his backstory, but we’ll get into that later. Moving on.

Grace Caroline Curry as Mary Bromfield

So, here’s the most popular character from these movies. Grace has already played both versions of Mary, so nothing new there in concept, but with Mary, I wanna focus on her backstory, as well as how she handle college and having her powers, as well as Anthea viewing her as a sorta bigger sister figure. Speaking of

Rachel Zegler as Anthea

Alright, so now that the misogynistic nerds who don’t know how to read beyond the headline of an article have shat themselves, called me a slur, and left because I said the name Rachel Zegler, let’s talk about Anthea. I really like Anthea as a concept and I liked Zegler’s performance, as well as her chemistry with Freddy, but I feel like we didn’t get to know her super well (especially compared her another DCEU OC Jenny Kord from Blue Beetle), but I wanna delver into her character, the idea of her learning about earth, and getting into some senior year of high school shenanigans because she needs a human alibi of some sort.

Ian Chen & Ross Butler as Eugene Choi

I don’t have a lot to say about These next 3, other than Butler is returning here because I believe canonically, he’d be like 16 or 17, so we’re going off the logic that at 18, you basically look the same with these powers. With Eugene, I wanna understand him better as a character. I have ideas about what games he’d be playing, as well as delve into his personality and origin story.

Jovan Armand & D.J. Catrona as Pedro Peña

Same logic with Eugene and Darla. With Pedro, I wanna get to understand his personality and backstory, but I really wanna see how his life is different from everyone else in the group, and see what it’s like for him being an LGBT teenager. But I don’t really have a lot to say about Pedro.

Faithe Herman & Megan Goode as Darla Dudley

Once again, same logic as the last two characters. With Darla, I really wanna see her in a semi-similar place Billy was at in the first film, and also feeling a bit disconnected, since a lot of people at 15 probably feel that way in some way shape or form. I also wanna get into her backstory, especially since she saw her birth parents right before she left whenever she was like 5, I’m sure she has similar issue like Billy had at 15, and I think it’d be nice to see Billy and her get closer as she continues to grow up.

Marta Milans & Cooper Andrews as Rosa & Victor Vásquez

Same as a lot of these, I’d love to get to know these two a lot better, and see how they handle their family growing up and doing things with their lives. I’d also take inspiration from Across the Spider-Verse with these two and their dynamic, and there’s actually a scene between Billy and Rosa I have an idea for that inspired by Miles and Rio’s last conversation before Miles leaves his earth, but more of that in the second part of this.

Mark Strong as Thaddeus Sivana

So, I plan to finally address the post-credit scenes of both films, and so Sivana will be a central character in this hypothetical show. I have a lot of ideas for him that are new, such as delving into his extended family (kids and ex wife included) and understand him better. Plus Mark Strong is a great actor.

David F. Sandberg as Mister Mind

Yes, I’m doing the worm, and his team the Monster Society of Evil.

Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard Shazam

Since the Wizard is alive, I figured he should be here. I also feel like him and Anthea can have a pretty interesting relationship since they’re both god like characters who don’t understand earth or American culture. Also Djimon Hounsou had worked with James Gunn before, he was Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1. I’d wanna portray the Wizard with humor, but I also wanna use Gandalf as an influence on his demeanor and character here, because it’d be an interesting angle for this character who’s usually more stoic.

Now, on to the JSA members.

Quintessa Swindell as Maxine Hunkel/Cyclone

Now we’re onto the Black Adam characters. I think the JSA were actually pretty well cast, I just wasn’t a fan of their writing and dynamics, which will definitely be changed. She could also represent the newer generation of heroes, along with Atom Smasher, and can relate to Billy in terms of getting the powers.

Noah Centineo as Al Rothstien/Atom Smasher

I think Atom Smasher was the worse handled JSA member, and he’d feel a lot closer to his comics counterpart. Again, I think the actor did good, but definitely deserved to have a different dynamic with member like Hawkman and shouldn’t have been the kid of the group.

Aldis Hodge as Carter Hall/Hawkman

Again, I really liked him as Hawkman. And with the DCU having a Hawkgirl (this version more than likely being Kendra Saunders, played by Isabela Merced), I’d like to see if she doesn’t want anything to do with Hawkman since she’s in the JLI and he’s in the JSA. Alright, one more to go.

Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate

Alright, so this casting was really good, but I have issues with the characterization, mainly the fact that Fate isn’t Nabu in control of someone’s body. That’s my only complaint other than be fucking dies in Black Adam, but since we’re ignoring Black Adam entirely except for these four casting choices, it’s safe to say he’s still here as Doctor Fate. I think the relationship between him and Billy would be super interesting and could work as a mentor figure for Billy when it comes to heroism.

Conclusion

And that’s everyone. I wanted to talk about new stuff in greater detail, but this post is already long enough, so I’ll mention the influences and the next post will go on from there.

My biggest influences are The Power of Shazam, The Trials of Shazam, the original comics, some of the New 52, JSA from the 90’s, and JLI. Again, I’m very sorry this post is long, and the next post will go more in depth on new characters and who I’d cast. Anyways, bye.

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