Warner Bros. brought Shazam! to Comic-Con International 2018 and debuted the first trailer from David F. Sandberg's upcoming superhero action/comedy for the crowd in Hall H. The studio kicked off the first wave of marketing for the Zachary Levi-headlined movie over this past week, releasing several official Shazam! screenshots and even unveiling multiple DCEU Easter Eggs in the film, at the same time. All of that has been building to the first Shazam! footage being screened in public at San Diego's ongoing geek culture convention.

Shazam! stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a young boy who is gifted with magical powers by an ancient Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) that allow him to transform into the finely chiseled superhero known as, well, Shazam! (Levi). Fittingly enough, Sandberg - who's currently known for his horror films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation - was confirmed to direct the DCEU Shazam! movie during last year's SDCC festivities. Now, twelve months later, he's returned to the convention and has some partially-complete footage to show for his efforts.

That footage is now online too. Check out the Shazam! trailer in the space above, then read on for the official synopsis (followed by the film's banner):

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word - SHAZAM! - this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart - inside a ripped, godlike body - Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.



Like the images released this past week, the Shazam! teaser trailer includes multiple references to the larger DC movie universe (now officially known as Worlds of DC). The video also provides a brief introduction to Hounsou as The Wizard giving Billy his super-powers in what looks and sounds like a pretty faithful interpretation of his origin story in the comic books. Similarly, Mark Strong makes his official debut here as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, the main villain the film.

More than anything, this Shazam! teaser firmly establishes a playful tone for the film that seems to perfectly fit its namesake. It also goes to show that, in the post-Justice League world, DC's big screen offerings will be embracing a spectrum of distinctly unique yet still appropriate styles. Indeed, between the humor of the Shazam! trailer, the swashbuckling nature of the Aquaman trailer, and Wonder Woman 1984's thrilling first look footage (all of which debuted at SDCC), the future seems bright for DC Films right now.

KEY RELEASE DATES

  • Aquaman (2018) release date: Dec 21, 2018
  • Shazam! (2019) release date: Apr 05, 2019
  • Wonder Woman 2 (2019) release date: Nov 01, 2019