Many old-school DCEU stalwarts are being abruptly fired, contrary to what James Gunn and Peter Safran’s glossy, new DCU rebranding might have led us to believe. The Man in Black himself, Dwayne Johnson, as well as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill’s Superman. And yet, despite all the odds, Zachary Levi, who plays the quirky hero Shazam!, is destined to survive the purge.
Therefore, even though we’ll never get to see Levi’s portrayal of Billy Batson engage in combat with the original Justice League on film, at least it appears he has defeated his opponents in terms of maintaining his place in the franchise. But you can’t help but feel some sympathy for the man. The demise of the Black Adam brand means that he will never fulfill his greatest DC super-hero aspiration—punching The Rock in the face.
Ironically, Levi may have been onto something with that last remark as it’s been reported that Johnson turned down the opportunity to cameo in this March’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods. That didn’t dull Levi’s hopes too much, though, as the actor was still voicing his aims to deck Dwayne around the chops as late as Dec. 2022, during an appearance at Comic-Con Portugal:
“I have no idea. I wish I had that power of decision, but I don’t. I was just lucky to get the job, very blessed. But obviously I’d like to punch The Rock in the face!”
Unfortunately for Levi, and anyone else who would’ve loved to have seen this, just days after this event, Johnson revealed that he was parting ways with DC and Black Adam 2 wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. So while Zachary Levi might be living it up and vacating with the new DC co-CEO, spare a thought for a man who’ll never get to battle The Rock on-screen. Although, given his social media activity, he may be looking to start something in real-life instead.
