Shazam Fury of The Gods will be released today, March 17th. At Imagen, we had the opportunity to talk to Zachary Levi, who plays Billy Batson. He was as lovely as possible and gave us great insight into what he cherishes most about this movie. When watching the film, something that struck me was the humor in it, which obviously made a great starting point for the conversation with Zach. “Ever since I was a kid, I have loved making people laugh. I think as a kid, around 4 years old was when I figured out that I could intentionally make someone laugh because before that, as a kid, you make people laugh, but you don’t know why, and around 4, I think I figured out. And I also, at 4, knew that a laughing, a smiling person felt good on the inside, and I became addicted to it. I just wanted to make people laugh so bad, and that got me into being an entertainer and then into an actor and all that stuff”. He is mesmerized by the fact that at 42, he is flown around the world to talk about how he gets to be a superhero.
The movie has so much heart, making the family one of the main themes, which is one of the reasons the actor wanted to play the role. The charm, the humor, the action, the adventure, and the drama make the film a well-rounded one, which is perfect for the whole family to go watch. “I love walking out of a movie theater and feeling lighter, almost like you’re floating a little bit, because you’ve just been swept up in this really fun escape, the escapism of entertainment, but we need that, we need to detach from the gnarliness that is the world sometimes, and to lift peoples’ spirits, and to fill them with joy, hope and with love, that is what a lot of superhero movies have the capability of doing, so I want that, people just feeling a little bit better about life,” said Levi.
Finally, Zach’s favorite scene from the movie was when he is trying to negotiate with Hespera, Helen Mirren’s character, over sandwiches and quoting Fast and Furious movies, which leads to an amazing fight scene between the two. But the ultimate best scene of the movie is when they are finally told what their superhero name is, which is as obvious as you might think it is.
