Did Zachary Levi Throw Shade at James Gunn?

Movies

Zachary Levi may have let out a little bit of frustration with the DCU casting process. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Levi was asked about returning to play Shazam in the rebooted DC film universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran. After giving the usual insistence that he doesn’t know what will happen (not that I don’t believe him, but this is pretty much what we’ll get till announcements are officially made) mixed with praise for his two DC films (which is warranted, as I liked both of those), the interviewer brought up Sean Gunn and Jason Momoa playing different roles in the new continuity. When reminded that Sean Gunn, who was announced as the DCU’s Maxwell Lord, previously appeared in The Suicide Squad, Levi said, “Listen, when you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play whoever you want.” You can see the interview below:

I don’t care how excited you are for the DCU or how much trust you have in James Gunn; you have to admit that was pretty funny. Zachary Levi usually seems like a fairly good-natured guy, so it’s possible he was trying to make a joke, but he didn’t laugh when he said it. I tend to think he was venting a bit because it seems like some people are coming back to their roles – or different ones – but not some of the ones people want. This seemingly confirms that Levi will not be back; he may legitimately not know for sure, but the writing is on the wall. Shazam!: Fury of the Gods was a mega bomb, and while that’s a shame because I thought it was a good movie (and certainly a lot better than some of the dreck that’s come out this year), a failure is a failure, and DC needs to pick itself up off the mat. However, Gunn has said that Xolo Maridueña will remain as Blue Beetle despite his film flopping, which has got to sting for Levi. Add to that Gunn bringing back his wife and brother, plus John Cena, the star of the show Gunn is currently producing, and I don’t blame him for being resentful. I imagine it’s also satisfying for people who accuse Gunn of nepotism to have those feelings validated by someone on the other side of the Hollywood divide.