Due to recent resurgence of Superman care of “Man of Steel”, Shazam fans will have to wait for Billy Batson to hit the big screen. With the success of the Superman reboot, Shazam will once again have to bow to DC’s golden boy.
Peter Segal, who was at one time attached to a film adaptation of Shazam along side Geoff Johns, told Coming Soon that Shazam’s similarities to Superman will keep his film debut tabled for now.
Segal stated that, “Shazam has always lived this tortured life going against Superman. 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.”
Source: Coming Soon