When young Billy Batson says "SHAZAM," he transforms into the adult superhero Captain Marvel. The character is nearly as old — and as powerful — as DC Comics' premiere hero, Superman. Yet, he's had far less exposure than the Man of Steel. In fact, most people who recognize Captain Marvel think his name is actually the magic word he says to access his powers. This name confusion stems partially from the fact that DC Comics is forced to market Captain Marvel under the name Shazam! because Marvel Comics owns the rights to the name.
Captain Marvel has appeared in film serials, a live-action TV show, and several cartoon series. There's also long been talk of adapting the comic book into a live-action movie along the lines of Big meets Superman. New Line Cinema had been working on an adaptation but when it folded, the scripter of the intended adaptation, John August (Big Fish), declared Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam! a "dead" project.
However, after acquiring the rights from New Line, Warner Bros. decided to move forward with the adaptation, hiring Peter Segal (Get Smart) to direct and bringing in Bill Birch to write a new draft of the screenplay with popular comic book scribe Geoff Johns. In a recent interview with CineFools, Birch said that he and Johns are "in the thick of it, creating a kick-ass update that still honors the lore" of the character. He said that he has "read some of the previous versions," but that he and Johns are "starting fresh."
I remember being fascinated with the idea that a kid could just say "Shazam!" and become a superhero. It's the ultimate in wish fulfillment and obviously that will be a theme in the script.
As for the rumors that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson may be stepping in to play Captain Marvel, Birch said:
My rule of thumb is that no actor is committed to do a movie until the first day of shooting is over with. (And sometimes even then the cast can still change) I know that Pete Segal and Dwayne have a relationship that was solidified when Pete directed Get Smart. As far as him being committed? I'm sure it'll all depend on the script. That being the case, I don't write with anyone in mind. If the characters are solid it will attract good talent and then there will always be a rewrite to address the talent's concerns. Usually at that point in the process is when you start writing for that specific actor. More than likely the role of Billy Batson will be an unknown but the role of Capt. Marvel? I always thought Ryan Reynolds would have been interesting but now that he's Green Lantern that's not an option.
Posted 11.11.09 by BrentJS 
Jeff Otto here at Hall H at Comic-Con with live updates from the Warner Bros. presentation.
Things just got rolling here and we were shown about 5 minutes from Get Smart. The footage looks great. Tons of laughs, lots of action. It ended with a scene in which Carell, as Maxwell smart, vomits in an airplane he is piloting. The vomit bag comes open and vomit goes everywhere. Big Applause.
Now director Pete Segal, The Rock, Steve Carell, Ken 
Davidian (Azamat from Borat) and a few other cast members have come out.
Carell, joking, says that Pete Segal never wore pants or underwear on set. "I found that funny," says Carell.
"Especially because he wanted us to call him Big Pete," says the Rock. Big laughs.
A nervous fan is taking forever to ask a question.
Carell interupts, yelling "ASK THE QUESTION! ASK THE QUESTION! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY HERE!"
Greeting from Nicole Kidman has been taped and is airing for Invasion.
"It's an interesting twist on the original," Kidman says of Invasion.
Clip from Invasion now. Footage looks all right, but nothing major. Very quick.
Now we are seeing footage from an upcoming horror movie called One Missed Call. It's met with rather lukewarm applause.
Now the stars Shannyn Sossman and Ed Burns have joined for a Q & A.
Burns is asked about a sequel to Confidence.
"Like most of the films I'm in, it came out and died at the box office, so that pretty much killed any sequel." Lots of laughs.
Now we are getting the world premiere of Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C. It looks like Apocalypto meets Jurassic Park. Very tepid reaction from the crowd.
Footage from Whiteout... Again kind of mixed reactions.
Joel Silver is out for a Q & A now. 
Silver on Speed Racer: "The races are just unbelievable."
Kate Beckinsale is supposed to be here, but isn't showing up. They show the Whiteout footage again. People still seem unimpressed.
Finally, Silver disappears and returns with Beckinsale. Almost looks to be pushing her out.
Kate is asked about playing Catwoman, which she says she'd consider. She's not sure about more black latex.
The panel seems to go on forever and people are getting restless. We want The Dark Knight!
Now footage from Trick 'R Treat. Actually looks pretty cool.
It's time for Watchmen! And here's Zack Snyder!
Snyder is saying that Watchmen will reflect the time in which it was made rather than directly referencing the current political climate.
He verifies it's an R-rated superhero movie. "Are there other R-rated superhero movies?" Snyder says. "It's an adult movie, whatever that means. If you call me an adult, which is a mistake... I'm not going to make it accessable to teenyboppers."
"We have a lot of sets that we are building in Vancouver. We have a New York City backdrop... We are not going to Mars, which I know if going to disappoint some people... I promise you, if we could, we would. They will not spend the money to send the crew to Mars on an R-rated movie." (Laughs)
He says he cast actors in the middle of the age range of the characters so that he could age them up and down.
"Manhattan needed to be more than a man... When he grows to 200 feet and he's tromping through the jungles of Vietnam, you've got to buy that and believe it."
Some of the cast is coming out. Malin Ackerman (Entourage), who plays Laurie, and Jackie Earle Hayley, who plays Rorschach, join the panel.
Questions about Alan Moore's participation. He is not involved and his name is not on the project. Snyder hopes he will check it out at some point and he hopes he's happy with it, but he understands why Moore has said "F**k Hollywood" up to this point.
Snyder has one last surprise. It's the poster and they are giving it out. It's a drawing from the comic. It has the date: 03.06.09 - DC will have it here at the Con.
And that's it from the Warner's panel. More to come in a bit.
Posted 07.27.07 by reelz