"Shazam" Movie Is NOT Part Of DCU

Since New Line Cinema will produce the upcoming film adaptation of the DC Entertainment title "Shazam," rather than Warner Bros it not surprising to hear the news that the big screen exploits of "Captain Marvel" will NOT tie into the larger Cinematic Universe where "Man Of Steel," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League" reside.

New Line president Toby Emmerich explained to Entertainment Weekly why that is the case:

"It feels to me like Shazam will have a tone unto itself. It's a DC comic, but it's not a Justice League character, and it's not a Marvel comic. The tone and the feeling of the movie will be different from the other range of comic book movies (It) will have a sense of fun and a sense of humor. But the stakes have to be real."

In the comics, Shazam is the alter ego Billy Batson, a boy who can transform into superhero form by saying the word 'Shazam' and is able to use the powers of six mythological god

Asked about the hiring of Dwayne Johnson as the villain Black Adam, Emmerich says:

"Black Adam is a complex character. The villain in superhero movies is often, I think, what makes the movie. And I thought Dwayne's take on the character, and the way that he saw Black Adam, was really compelling and fun"

Warners has distributed all of the recent DC Comics adaptations thus far and in more recent comics Shazam is a member of the Justice League, making his absence rather strange. Then again, Warners is developing a an adaptation of author Neil Gaiman's  popular comic book series Sandman, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt that isn't expected to tie in with the DCU either.

Darren Lemke ("Turbo," "Jack the Giant Slayer") has been hired to write the script but no production date is set. New Line has not confirmed a release date for "Shazam" yet.