Djimon Hounsou Will Give DC’s SHAZAM! His Mighty Powers

Warner Bros.' Shazam! feels like a big, fat question mark, doesn't it?

Unlike anything else the DCU has produced thus far, Shazam! looks to be a lighthearted superhero romp, one that wears it heart right on its sleeve. Of course last year's Wonder Woman went a ways towards dialing back the grimdark tone that permeated Zack Snyder's DC movies, but this...this is something else entirely.

Shazam! tells the story of Billy Batson, a young boy (Angel Asher) gifted with the power to turn himself into an adult superhero, Captain Marvel (Zachary Levi), just by uttering his signature catchphrase ("Shazam!", in case that weren't obvious). 

Today, we've learned who'll be playing The Wizard, the ancient sorcerer who granted Billy Batson with those powers. Says Entertainment Weekly:

"Djimon Hounsou was quietly cast to play the sorcerer who gives young Billy Batson his powers in DC’s Shazam! film coming next year, EW has exclusively learned."

It's interesting that Hounsou will be playing roles in both the DCU and the MCU, where he first appeared as Korath the Pursuer in James Gunn's Guardians of The Galaxy, but what's slightly more interesting is that he'll be reprising his role in next year's Captain Marvel. There was already bound to be confusion between the Captain Marvel of Shazam! and the Captain Marvel of Captain Marvel, but no one is likely to feel that confusion as thoroughly as Hounsou, who'll now be starring in two movies containing a Captain Marvel across two different comic book franchises from two different studios. Dude's probably already sick of explaining this to people.

Anyhoo, it's cool to hear Hounsou's joined Shazam!, and we're legimitately looking forward to seeing some that film's first trailer. Stay tuned for that, folks: chances are, it'll arrive in a few weeks, during SDCC.