New Shazam! Teaser Features Man Of Steel Easter Egg, Seven Deadly Sins First Look

What the latest teaser for Shazam! lacked in length, it more than made up for in brand-new footage and eye-catching teases. 

Warner Bros. rolled out a 53-second spot for the forthcoming superhero standalone over the weekend, giving fans new glimpses at Zachary Levi suited up as the titular vigilante, hinting at the humor that will color the film (and the grim DC Extended Universe as a whole, by proxy), and offering the first look at the Seven Deadly Sins in the film. Plus, there's a subtle nod to Man of Steel tucked into the teaser as well. 

Uploaded to the studio's official YouTube page, the clip shows Shazam and Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) facing off against one another in fierce fashion, young Billy Batson (Asher Angel) metamorphosing into his adult superhero alter ego as he leaps from a building, and Shazam attempting to buy the "finest beer" that a gas station has to offer. The whole thing ends on a laugh-out-loud hilarious exchange between Shazam, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), and a real estate agent: the two meet with the woman in hopes of finding a secret lair they can set up as their superhero base, and the conversation is about as goofy as it can get. 

"If you have a location, like, on a cliff, like a castle-esque type thing," Freddy begins. "Overlooking some water," adds Shazam. "Splashing on some rocks and stuff, then we will take that," Freddy says with a wide smile on his face. 

Between these fun and funny moments in the new Shazam! footage is, as we mentioned before, the first peek at the Seven Deadly Sins. Those familiar with the Shazam! comics will know them as the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, demons that can control humans and superheroes. Captured by the Wizard Mamaragan — also known as Shazam, who grants Billy his powers — the Seven Deadly Sins sit encased in stone statues, nestled in the Rock of Eternity, but have broken free and wreaked havoc on the world on multiple occasions. In one such instance, the Sins aimed to turn Billy Batson to stone, operating under the instruction of King Kull, but their plans were thwarted and they were once again trapped in their stone prisons. Members of the villainous bunch include Pride, Envy, Greed, Anger, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust. The pre-2000s Sins were named Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Laziness, Selfishness, and Injustice.

The Seven Deadly Sins appear only briefly in the Shazam! teaser, but director David F. Sandberg took to Instagram to post a still of the Sins from the footage. "It goes by pretty quickly in the video I posted earlier so here's a still with some neat stuff in it," he wrote in the caption.

How large a role the Seven Deadly Sins might play in Shazam! is an unknown for the time being, though the teaser and Sandberg's social media post add confirmation to the rumor that they will appear in a pretty significant capacity. Omega Underground previously got its hands on Shazam! audition tapes in which actors read for a scene that involved the Wizard informing Billy that the Sins murdered his council members and that he needed a new champion to vanquish them. 

As for the Man of Steel Easter egg, fans can spot the homage to the 2013 DCEU movie during the battle between Shazam and Sivana, which sees the latter grip onto the former as they soar through the skies. Sivana then decks Shazam square in the face, launching him through the air, which is reminiscent of the battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and Zod (Michael Shannon) that took place in Man of Steel.

It's evident, based not only on this new teaser but also on all the Shazam! promotional material we have seen from Warner Bros., that the film is leaning away from the dark and gritty tone that has saturated much of the DCEU and taking a more lighthearted, humorous approach. Levi has stated that Shazam! "takes places very squarely in the DC Universe," but that it is "completely trackable on its own merit." He further noted on Twitter, "There a lot of fun little nods/homages/Easter eggs that can be enjoyed should one be caught up in the DCEU." Not completely abandoning the established film franchise to traverse into different territory is wise, and should help keep Shazam! grounded amid what's sure to be a silly, super-charged superhero adventure.

Billed as carrying its "own distinctly fun, family-centric tone" and a story that seeks to prove "we all have a superhero inside us," Shazam! also stars Djimon Hounsou (Aquaman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel) as the Wizard, Grace Fulton (Annabelle: Creation) as Mary, Faithe Herman (This Is Us) as Darla, Ian Chen (Fresh Off the Boat) as Eugene, and Jovan Armand (Hawaii Five-O) as Pedro. Catch the film in theaters on April 5.