One of the earliest comic book adaptations to the big screen was the serialized The Adventures of Captain Marvel back in 1941, but unfortunately this would also be the last time that Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel, aka Shazam would appear in it.
In an interview to CS, director Peter Segal talks
about the now extinct plan for an adaptation of the character, titled Billy
Batson and the Legend of Shazam.
"The thing is, Shazam has always lived this
tortured life going against Superman," said the director. "This dates
back to the 1930s. Because Captain Marvel had similar powers to Superman, the
DC folks back then sued what was the most popular comic book on the stands at
that time. Years later, they bought it and it became a DC property but, as long
as Superman stays hot in the market place, there seems like a little bit of a
crossover between the two characters. After Bryan Singer's 'Superman Returns,'
it seemed like there was a moment in time where Shazam was going to see the
light of day. That's when you heard those stories. Now that Superman is being
invigorated and going up against Batman, I think it's difficult for DC to
figure out how to launch this character in the wake of Superman's
resurgence."
Given Segal's work on comedies (Longest Yard, Get Smart, 50 First Dates), we may assume that his
plans for the character would be more PG-13.
"It wasn't," Segal says. "I was working
with Geoff Johns. At its core, it's a lot like Superman. There's this boy
trapped inside of a superhero's body. He's still a boy inside, so there's this
opportunity to play a lot of humor with the action. Originally, Stan Lee
brought me 'Fantastic Four' a number of years for that very reason. I always
have the question when people bring me superhero properties, 'Why me?' With
Stan, he said, 'It's because there's a sense of humor within all Marvel
characters.' These characters are flawed and, within those flaws, there is
humor. When Toby Emmerich came to me with Shazam, it was because of those same
reasons. To draw from that humor and to mix it with great action and pathos.
I've always loved Shazam, but I don't know if it's going to see the light of
day anytime soon."
In the comic books Billy Batson is chosen by a
powerful wizard called Shazam to be a champion of good. Now every time Batson
says the word Shazam a lightning falls upon him and transforms him from a
regular person to Captain Marvel or Shazam, “the world’s mightiest mortal”.
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