10 Ways The DCEU Films Nearly Turned Out Completely Different
6. A Dark, Gritty Adaptation - Shazam
Even though the DC Extended Universe started off as broody and serious, Shazam was a nice change of pace since it embraced the campy wackiness of the comics. Yes, it was cheesy and some of the dialogue is a bit corny but it felt like the movie wouldn't have worked any other way. I mean, could you imagine the Big Red Cheese in a dark and gritty adaptation?
But that's almost what we got! Screenwriter, John August, told MTV that he was hired to write the script for a Shazam film adaptation back in 2008. But when Warner Bros. saw Speed Racer bomb at the box office and The Dark Knight bank a billion dollars, they put Shazam on hold.
The studio assumed modern audiences were no longer interested in colourful, fun comic movies and so, pressurised August to rewrite Shazam so it was more in line with Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.
When August left the project, Warner Bros. considered abandoning the whole film and instead, making an animated series about the World's Mightiest Mortal. It would've been a massive shame if Shazam. went down this route since we would've missed out on the funniest movie in the DCEU.