8 Things You Need To Know About Shazam

The next DC Comics movie to go before the cameras has been confirmed, and it's basically Superman but with a sense of juvenile, goofy fun.

That's right, Shazam! is coming and it's due to start shooting early next year with Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David Sandberg at the helm.

Shazam, or Captain Marvel, if you prefer, has been on the cards since Warner Bros. first revealed ambitions to rival Marvel Studios with a DC cinematic universe.

The studio announced that Earth's mightiest mortal was on its roadmap, and even went as far as casting Dwayne Johnson as his nemesis, Black Adam.

The Rock has been vocal about his passion for the villain in interviews, but he'll have to hold his horses for now because Black Adam won't be part of the Shazam movie.

Apparently, the plan is to introduce the hero first and his arch-rival in a standalone movie before bringing them together further down the line.

Henry Gayden, who wrote Earth To Echo, has penned the script for Shazam, and Annabelle producer Peter Safran is in talks to oversee the project.

But just who is this Shazam character anyway? Why is he sometimes referred to as Captain Marvel, and what's with that big lightning bolt on his chest?

Shazam isn't somebody you want to mess with, even if you happen to be stronger than Superman and faster than The Flash.

He's one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, and coming from a world inhabited by characters like Darkseid and Parallax, that's saying something.

The hero has an unorthodox alter ego, that of a young child named Billy Batson. When Billy utters the magic word 'Shazam', he is transformed into an all-powered adult superhero, and at no point is this ever as dumb as it sounds.

Shazam possesses a wealth of superpowers, taking on the combined abilities of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury in full hero mode - so that includes flight, super strength, spell-casting abilities - there's little he can't do.

These powers were bestowed upon Billy by an ancient, dying wizard during his origin story. He still channels his creator's ghost for advice and guidance from time to time.

Shazam has relatively few weaknesses, one being his immaturity, which isn't really his fault since he is literally a child beneath all of that divine power.

Some storylines have depicted him as vulnerable to powerful magic, and others would have you believe that a high-voltage electrical shock can reverse his transformation.

In modern comic continuity, a new crop of magical patrons from DC lore provide his powers, probably because the original bunch were a mess of conflicting ideologies.