Plot
In 1974, young Thaddeus Sivana is riding in a car with his father and brother when he is suddenly transported to the Rock of Eternity, a magical temple in another dimension. There, the ancient wizard Shazam has spent centuries searching for someone pure of heart on whom to bestow his power and name as champion, after the previous champion released the Seven Deadly Sins which killed the rest of the Council of Wizards. Thaddeus is tempted by the Eye of Sin, through which he hears the voices of the Sins, trapped in stone statues, promising him power if he will free them. The wizard deems Thaddeus unworthy and magically returns him to the car, where he makes a scene that leads to a car accident, crippling his father. The Sins send Thaddeus a message telling him to find them.
In present-day Philadelphia, 14-year-old foster child Billy Batson continually runs away from foster homes to search for his birth mother, from whom he became separated while at a carnival ten years prior. He is placed in a group home run by Victor and Rosa Vasquez, with five other foster children: Mary Bromfield, Pedro Peña, Eugene Choi, Darla Dudley, and superhero enthusiast Freddy Freeman. Meanwhile, the embittered Sivana succeeds in his lifelong quest to find a way back to the Rock of Eternity. He steals the Eye of Sin, becoming the Sins' vessel, bests the wizard, and uses his newfound power to kill his father, brother, and Sivana Industries' board of directors.
At school, Billy defends Freddy from bullies and is chased into a subway, where he is transported to the Rock of Eternity. The wizard chooses Billy to be his new champion: By saying the name "Shazam", Billy is transformed into an adult superhero. The wizard turns to dust, leaving his magical staff behind. At home, Freddy is taken into Billy's confidence and helps him explore his newfound powers, which include super strength, speed, near-invulnerability, and electricity manipulation. By saying "Shazam" again, he can transform back into his normal body. Freddy posts viral videos of the new superhero, and Billy starts skipping school to use his powers to busk for money and fame, straining his friendship with Freddy. When Billy accidentally endangers and then saves a bus full of people, Sivana confronts him, demanding that he surrender his powers. Billy discovers that he can fly, and manages to escape. His foster siblings deduce that he is the superhero, and complete his search for his mother, who lives nearby. Billy rushes to see her, but is disheartened to learn that she abandoned him, having felt inadequate to raise him as a single teenage mother.
Sivana deduces Billy's identity and takes his foster siblings hostage. Billy agrees to transfer his powers to Sivana in exchange for their safety. They go to the Rock of Eternity to use the wizard's staff to effect the transfer, but the children follow and attack Sivana. Billy observes that Sivana becomes vulnerable when all seven Sins leave his body. Sivana pursues them to a winter carnival and unleashes the Sins upon the crowd. Remembering the wizard's words, Billy uses the staff to share his powers with his siblings, transforming them into adult superheroes like him. He then breaks the staff, and his siblings battle the Sins while Billy faces down Sivana. By luring out the final Sin, Envy, Billy makes Sivana vulnerable and yanks the Eye of Sin out of his head, recapturing all the Sins.
Billy and his siblings are hailed as heroes, return the Eye and the Sins to their prison, and realize they can use the Rock of Eternity as their superhero lair. Billy finally accepts his foster parents and siblings as his "real" family. In his superhero form, he has lunch with his siblings at school, revealing to Freddy's surprise that he has also invited Superman. In a mid-credits scene, the imprisoned Sivana is approached by a talking caterpillar,[a] who proposes an alliance.
Cast
- Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a troubled orphan searching for his biological mother, who is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam as his champion. David Kohlsmith plays the four-year-old Billy.
- Zachary Levi as Shazam, the wizard's champion and Billy's superhero alter-ego, who upon saying his name possesses "the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury". Throughout his discoveries of the use of his powers, Billy and Freddy consider using other aliases for the champion, such as "Captain Sparklefingers".[7]
- Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, a scientist who was turned down as a potential champion and subsequently estranged from his family, who becomes a host for the Seven Deadly Sins and Shazam's nemesis. Ethan Pugiotto plays the young Thaddeus.[8]
- Jack Dylan Grazer as Frederick "Freddy" Freeman, Billy's physically disabled foster brother and a fan of superheroes, who mentors Billy on the use of his newfound powers. Adam Brody plays the character's adult superhero form.[9]
- Djimon Hounsou as Shazam, the last surviving member of the Council of Wizards, who has spent centuries summoning people to his temple, the Rock of Eternity, in search of a "pure of heart" champion to whom he can pass on his extraordinary faculties.[10]
- Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Billy's good-natured younger foster sister. Meagan Good plays the character's adult superhero form.
- Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Billy's mature, academically-driven older foster sister. Michelle Borth plays the character's adult superhero form.[11]
- Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Billy's younger foster brother, an obsessive gamer and techie. Ross Butler plays the character's adult superhero form.[12]
- Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña: Billy's older foster brother, a shy, sensitive boy who has trouble opening up.[13] D. J. Cotrona plays the character's adult superhero form.
- Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez, the foster mother of Billy and his siblings.[14]
- Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, Billy and his siblings’ foster father.[15]
The film also features John Glover as Mr. Sivana, the estranged father of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana and CEO of Sivana Industries.[16] Glover had previously starred in other DC Comics series and films: Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and Superman: The Animated Series as The Riddler; Dr. Jason Woodrue in the 1997 film Batman and Robin; and Lionel Luthor, Lex Luthor's father in Smallville. Natalia Safran was cast as Mrs. Sivana, though her scenes were ultimately cut from the film. Caroline Palmer portrays Marilyn Batson, Billy's biological mother. Wayne Ward and Landon Doak portray Sid the bullying brother of Thaddeus Sivana as an adult and a teenager, respectively. Carson MacCormac and Evan Marsh portray Brett and Burke Breyer, bullies at the children's school.[17]
Director David F. Sandberg makes cameo appearances performing as each of the three Crocodile-Men (collaboratively assisted by Steve Newburn and Ned Morill), and provides the voice of the alien lifeform Mister Mind during a mid-credits sequence.[18] Sandberg's wife, actress Lotta Losten, portrays Dr. Lynn Crosby; a researcher working with Dr. Sivana, who is killed by him.[19] Sound designer Bill R. Dean has an uncredited cameo, providing the voice for a Batman toy,[20] while Ryan Hadley, Zachary Levi's stunt double, appears uncredited as a stand-in body double for Superman. Hadley's appearance is a silent cameo, where the character is only seen from the neck down, due to Henry Cavill being unavailable to film the scene.[21] Dwayne Johnson's likeness is used for the mystic-generated holograph of Teth-Adam, which the wizard Shazam conjures while teaching Billy the history of the Rock of Eternity, the Seven Realms of Magic, and his previous Champion.[22] Johnson will portray the titular role in Black Adam.
The Seven Deadly Sins – a supernatural team of villains consisting of the demons Pride, Envy, Greed, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, and Sloth – were portrayed by stunt doubles in motion capture suits on-set during filming, and depicted on-screen through CGI special effects.[23] Their voices were collectively provided by actors Steve Blum, Darin De Paul, and Fred Tatasciore. In an Easter egg appearance, Andi Osho reprises her role as social worker Emma Glover from Sandberg's film Lights Out.[24][25][26]
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