Shazam! made all the money at the box office this weekend, as DC fans watched Billy Batson’s alter ego finally join the same big-screen universe as Batman and Superman. (That’s why Billy’s buddy, Freddy, wears T-shirts with the bat symbol on them and has a Batarang replica from Ben Affleck’s time under the cowl.)
But the biggest crossover potential was glimpsed in the film’s final moments, when Superman himself shows up. Well, kind of. To payoff a bet from earlier in the story, Billy and Freddy show up at their school’s cafeteria at lunch time to be joined by the Man of Steel. Specifically, judging by the costume, Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel. We never see Superman’s face, just the lower half of his body and that big “S.” So it’s clearly not Cavill in Supes’ cape, but, man, it almost was.
“Originally, Superman actually sat down at the table and they had a little bit of a conversation,” Shazam! director David F. Sandberg recently shared with Inverse. “But when we were up in Toronto shooting, we couldn’t make [the scheduling] work — I wanted Henry Cavill to pop up. But he was unavailable, which was disappointing.”
So who was the lucky guy who got to slip on the iconic costume?
“We had Zack’s stunt double do it,” Sandberg revealed. But the director had some trepidation about it. “I was worried. Is this gonna feel cheap? Is this not gonna work? To cut before you see his face, is this gonna feel cheap? Are people gonna feel cheated? [But] it just made us laugh. You see Freddy’s reaction and a hard cut to credits, and it’s just funny. It turned out better than what it was originally where he sat down and had a little chat.”
Judging by the box office, audiences seem to love the choice. Here’s hoping we get to see Zachary Levi’s Shazam share the screen with Supes (and Batman and Wonder Woman) someday soon.
Shazam! is in theaters now and you can get your tickets here.











