Dark Knight, Speed Racer Kill Shazam Movie

The long-rumored movie based on superhero comic Shazam! won't be made, according to a screenwriter who was working on the project.

John August says on his blog that after several rewrites and some back and forth with Warner Bros., the project is officially dead.

By "dead," I mean that it won't be happening. I don't think it's on the studio's radar at all. It may come back in another incarnation, with another writer, but I can say with considerable certainty that it won't be the version I developed.

Yes, that sucks. And obviously, I can only share my interpretation of what transpired. There were dozens of meetings and phone calls in which I had no participation. As a reader, you should certainly consider the possibility that I wrote shitty scripts they simply didn't want to make. Because Warners controls copyright on them, I can't put them in the Library for you to read yourself. So you have to decide whether to take my word on it.

August says the crazy success of The Dark Knight and the dismal failure of Speed Racer doomed Shazam! to the dustbin of cinematic history (at least for the time being) because studio execs began pushing for a darker, less-comedic film.

In the comic books, teenager Billy Batson turned into superhero Captain Marvel whenever he uttered the word "Shazam," the name of the wizard who gave him his superpowers. The character was created in 1939 by artist C.C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, appeared in books by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics, and was featured in the '70s live-action TV show Shazam!

Photo: Wikipedia

[via Cinematical]

See also:

• Captain Marvel to 'Shazam' His Way Into Theaters
• Forget Watchmen. The Word Is 'Shazam!'
• Comics-Based Movies Keep on Comin'
• Stan Lee Ain't Joking About Comics' Movie Magic
• Iron Man Sends Comic Movie Plans Spinning