Reacher's Alan Ritchson Replaces Zachary Levi As Shazam In Surreal DCU Fanart
The DC Extended Universe has had its fair share of casting controversies, but many fans agree that one of the highlights from this era of DC's film efforts was Zachary Levi's performance as Shazam. Appearing in both "Shazam!" and "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," Levi turned the superpowered alter ego of Asher Angel's Billy Batson into a fan-favorite through his cheery demeanor and his plethora of wisecracks.
For fans most familiar with Shazam through Levi's iteration, it might be hard to imagine another actor donning the golden boots. After all, Levi is the only other actor to have portrayed the role in live-action since Tom Tyler's iteration for the 1941 film serial "Adventures of Captain Marvel." However, one particular piece of fan art visualizes a bizarre alternate reality where a certain "Reacher" star played the hero instead of Levi.
On their Instagram account, fan artist @21xfour made a collaboration post with fan account @homeofdcu, which includes a mock-up of actor Alan Ritchson wearing the Shazam outfit from the DCEU. While seeing Ritchson's visage in the suit instead of Levi may feel rather uncanny at first, the image makes a compelling case for the actor being a suitable candidate (pun intended) for the role.
Could Alan Ritchson actually play Shazam?
With @21xfour's mock-up providing a convincing look at Alan Ritchson as Shazam, some fans might be wondering if there's any chance the "Reacher" star could actually make his way into the DC Universe as a new version of the character. Unfortunately, it seems that the odds of it happening are pretty slim for the moment.
Ritchson was indeed once rumored to be replacing Zachary Levi as Shazam after news of James Gunn's plans to reboot the DC film continuity first began spreading online. However, Gunn himself shot down speculation on this front when he took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared a post explicitly debunking the rumor. Nonetheless, with no concrete projects involving Shazam announced, it remains unclear whether Gunn intends to retain Levi or recast the role in the future.
While the rumors may not be true for now, it seems that Ritchson is at least open to the idea of playing Shazam. The actor has, on occasion, teased the idea of him taking on the role via social media. Before the release of "Shazam!," he even went as far as to falsely confirm (in a now-deleted tweet preserved by ScreenGeek) that he would be playing the DCEU iteration of the character. He's no stranger to the DCU either, having portrayed Aquaman on "Smallville" and Hawk on "Titans."