Cast Party: Who Should Star in a ‘Shazam’ Movie?

Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist. This week, I'm going with one of the classics: The Marvel Family, aka Shazam. In theory this is a movie that's actually going to be made, but I have no idea what that will look like, so I'm imagining my own.

Let me admit to being a purist about something: I'm not okay with calling Billy Batson's alter ego "Shazam." That's the name of the wizard, and it's the magic word Billy says to transform. That name is already doing enough work without being what we call the superhero as well. So for this movie, we're going to assume he's called Captain Marvel. I think Shazam is a fine title for the movie, though. It's been 20 years since Shaq starred in Kazaam, so I don't think there will be too much confusion.

We should start the movie with the heroes established, and maybe just do an origin flashback or two. There's just not enough room to fit origins for Cap, Mary, and Freddy chronologically in one movie, and I don't want to save any of them for the sequel. I think it's that family dynamic that really sets Captain Marvel apart from Superman. I mean yes, there's Supergirl and sometimes Superboy, but they don't all fly around together every day. The Marvel Family work as a team. They're also friends with a talking tiger, which is another unique angle.

The main thrust of this movie will be a team-up between the trio's three greatest villains, Sivana, Black Adam, and Mr. Mind. The whole thing will be a pretty light-hearted adventure, and definitely appropriate for kids to watch with their parents. Because what's the point of heroes who are kids if they're not for kids.