Pro-Donald Trump Star From Zack Snyder’s DCEU Still Has the Option to Return in James Gunn’s DCU Reboot

SUMMARY

• Given that characters from Peacemaker appeared in Fury of the Gods, Shazam has a chance of being canon in the DCU.
• Zachary Levi always had the look that felt more at home with the DCU, but it remains to be seen if James Gunn will give him another shot at the character.
• There are other Superman pastiches DC comics that Gunn could bring to the DCU as well.

James Gunn has said that there will be select parts of the DCEU that will be canon in his DCU. The director took over at the tail end of the DCEU, hoping to soft reboot the universe. However, he said that John Cena, Viola Davis and a few other characters will continue to play their roles as they are, while also referencing some events from the DCEU in the new DCU.

Zachary Levi as Shazam || Credit: WB

James Gunn was in charge of the DCU when Shazam: Fury of the Gods came out, which saw the character share a space with Emilia Harcourt, and John Economos, one of whom has already been confirmed to be canon in the MCU. Given that both these characters were in Peacemaker Season 1, which will be canon in the DCU, it is a possibility that Zachary Levi might have a space in the rebooted franchise.

Shazam’s costume has some similar textures to Superman’s costume in the DCU

Shazam: Fury of the Gods || Credit; DC Studios

With all the lines in Shazam’s costume, the character seems a little more suited to the DCU than he is to the DCEU. While the Shazam sequel tanking might just be Levi’s chance to return as the character, having him join the DCU will definitely bring in some charm that the character showed in the first film.

James Gunn might have to look into re-casting the younger cast of the film, given that they are much older than they were in the first film. Levi could serve as the quintessential version of Shazam, whose existence would serve as an amazing emotional core to the Justice League while also being a counterweight to Superman, power-wise. While the actor’s pro-Trump stance should not hurt his chances at the role, it remains to be seen if James Gunn will take another chance with the actor.

There are other Kryptonian analogs that could be introduced in the DCU

Icon || Credit: DC Comics

While Shazam’s future remains up in the air in the DCU, there are some other Superman analogs that could make their way into the DCU thanks to their obscure nature. Audiences are privy to how much fun James Gunn has with characters that are not as mainstream, and the DCU might be the right place for Gunn to popularise some of these characters.

Be it Icon, Apollo, Martian Manhunter, or Mon-El, all these characters could come front and center in the DCU in Shazam’s stead to be the powerhouse counterweight to Superman, should that become necessary. However, Shazam has faced off against Superman in many key DC events (most famously Kingdom Come) and is directly tied to one of DC’s biggest villains in Black Adam. Having Shazam in the DCU will definitely be an asset for James Gunn, given that it gives him stories and mythology to use to build out his universe.

Written by Anuraag Chatterjee

Articles Published: 1222

Anuraag Chatterjee, Web Content Writer
With a passion for writing fiction and non fiction content, Anuraag is a Media Science graduate with 2 year's experience with Marketing and Content, with 3 published poetry anthologies. Anuraag holds a Bacherlor's degree in Arts with a focus on Communication and Media Studies.