Shazam: First Official Picture of Asher Angel as Billy Batson Revealed
Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment today released the first official image of a young Billy Batson (Asher Angel) in the upcoming DC Extended Universe film Shazam! The reveal comes just a day after the studio released a picture of Zachary Levi reveling in his newfound power as the film’s titular hero.
“He’s misunderstood, he’s mischievous, he’s been a foster kid since he was 5 years old and really has no one to trust,” Angel said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the outlet that first published the photo.
In the interview, Angel also reveals a little more about Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer). According to Angel, Freddy is the first person Billy befriends upon moving into a new foster home. Freddy is super fan when it comes to all things superhero — he loves Batman, Superman and the Justice League. With such a deep well of knowledge to draw from, Freddy becomes Billy’s superhero mentor in short order.
RELATED: Shazam! Is the ‘Next Step in the Evolution of the DC Brand’
The new photos arrive just days before the film’s Comic-Con International: San Diego panel, where it is expected the first trailer will be screened. One of the film’s cinematographers has all but confirmed the trailer will screen at the convention.
Debuting in theaters on April 5, 2019, Shazam! is directed by David F. Sandberg and stars Zachary Levi as Shazam, Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, Djimon Hounsou as an ancient wizard named Shazam, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Jack Dylan Grazer as Frederick “Freddy” Freeman, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vázquez, and Marta Milans as Rosa Vázquez.
