29 Nov – It looks like everybody should thank "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn for Zachary Levi playing the role of DC's "Shazam!" In a recent interview, the actor, who is reprising his role in the upcoming sequel, revealed that he had actually auditioned for the role of Star-Lord in Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" prior to securing the Shazam role in the DC superhero movie. "James and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other's homes, had a lot of mutual friends. And so, he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden, I was camera testing. Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like so, so, so, so bad. It came down to me, one other guy, and Chris Pratt, but Chris was always their favourite and he was hesitant to take it," he said.
Despite eventually losing the role to Pratt, Levy revealed that it was Gunn who convinced "Shazam!" producer Peter Safran to give him a chance, stating that his screen testing left an impression on the director. "Was that the thing that sent it all over for me? I don't know that, but I'm sure it was part of that conversation, absolutely. I'm indebted to James that he would believe in me enough to remember that and pass that info on," he added. Levy will be reprising his role as the superhero in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods", which is scheduled for release on 2 June 2023. This comes two years following the success of the first movie, which grossed USD 366 million worldwide.