Shazam! star Zachary Levi recently talked about his Star-Lord audition for Guardians of the Galaxy.
Before Zachary Levi joined the DC Extended Universe as Shazam, he was part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Fandral in Thor: The Dark World and Ragnarok. Levi also almost played another role in the MCU, since he auditioned for Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the actor spoke to The Playlist’s The Fourth Wall podcast about that experience:
“James [Gunn] and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other’s homes, had a lot of mutual friends. And so he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden I was camera testing. Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like so, so, so, so bad. It came down to me, one other guy, and Chris Pratt, but Chris was always their favorite and he was hesitant to take it, which is understandable, I mean it’s a big franchise thing, it’s Marvel, does it work out, does it not work out? Is this what everyone is going to know me as for the rest of my life? All of those things that go through your head.”
Zachary Levi then thanked Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn for putting in the good word to Shazam! producer Peter Safran, which led to him playing another hero:
“But eventually, and I think smartly, he decided to take the job and so it didn’t go my way or anyone else’s way for that matter, but I hoped I left enough of a good impression with James that when I was auditioning for ‘Shazam,’ and his very dear friend, and manager, and sometimes producing partner, Peter Safran, calls up James because this is how our industry works…Fortunately, I was in good standing with James, I try to be in good standing with as many people as I can be and try to be a decent person, and I think between that and how well James thought I did in the Star-Lord test, he said, ‘Yeah man, you really should give Zach an opportunity at this. I really think he could be great.’ Was that the thing that sent it all over for me? I don’t know that, but I’m sure it was part of that conversation, absolutely. I’m indebted to James that he would believe in me enough to remember that and pass that info on.”
Here is the official synopsis for Zachary Levi’s first Shazam! movie:
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quick.
Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, and Djimon Hounsou.
Shazam! is available on Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD, while Fury of the Gods will hit theaters on June 2, 2023. Keep it locked to Heroic Hollywood for all the latest on Zachary Levi’s Shazam! sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and be sure to subscribe to HH’s YouTube channel for more video content!
Source: The Playlist
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