Shazam! Trailer Arrives To Put The Bullies In Their Place

Bullies beware — Shazam is here.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for its upcoming DC extended universe movie Shazam!, following the adventures, triumphs, and revenge fantasies of young Billy Batson as he attains the powers — and the build — of a grown-up superhero. Check it out above.

The footage shows young Billy Batson going on a magical journey from beta boy to alpha man in a story that's been pitched as "Superman meets Big". 

Specifically, the trailer shows the 14-year-old foster kid being blessed with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. 

All of these attributes — which conveniently spell the transformation trigger word "Shazam" — are gifted to the teen by an ancient wizard, who offers Billy the gift of his immense powers during a chance meeting in a subway station. Which is... easily the best possible outcome of that sort of interaction. Don't talk to wizards in the underground, kids — no matter how much they look like Djimon Hounsou.

The story of Shazam! will reportedly focus on Billy and Freddie as they puzzle out the parameters of Shazam's incredible powers. While things start out light-heartedly, with pranks and tricks and fun and games, Billy will have to get a grip on his new powers with a quickness if he wants to stop the plans of the nefarious Doctor Thaddeus Sivana, a mad scientist played by Mark Strong.

The movie stars Asher Angel as the kid-aged Billy Batson and Zachary Levi as the grown-up Shazam. It also stars Jack Dylan Grazer from It as Billy's best friend, Freddie Freeman. 

Shazam! is directed by Annabelle: Creation's David F. Sandberg. It will be out in theaters on April 5, 2019.