John August, the screenwriter behind The Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Big Fish has signed on to work on the adaptation of a DC Comics series, Shazam! for director Peter Segal.
The series, about the ironically-titled Captain Marvel (this being a DC and not a Marvel comic, which could confuse some people), focuses on a 13 year-old boy called Billy Batson, who somehow becomes superhero Captain Marvel every time he says the word "Shazam!", an acronym for the legendary gods and heroes of the ancient world.
Yes, every time he utters that word he temporarily gets the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries (god of War), the power of Zeus (head god), the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. Which ain't a bad selection of talents, even if there is a messy mix of Greek and Roman mythology there, and we're not sure where Solomon fits in at all.
So it's basically Bananaman without the fruit, but August is excited about the character. "It's a unique opportunity to do a comic book movie where the character in it actually read comic books," said August to The Hollywood Reporter. "What's terrific about the character is that he looks like this superstudly superhero but is really a 13-year-old boy. And to approach everything that is great about a superhero movie from a 13-year-old boy's perspective was a unique way in."
He's already started on the script, after spending time with DC writers to keep it fan-friendly as well as newbie-welcoming. But there's no hurry just yet - director Peter Segal (The Longest Yard remake, Anger Management, 50 First Dates) is still shooting Get Smart with Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin and The Rock, so expect to see this late next year at the earliest. Shazam! Nope, didn't work for us.