Shazam! is a 2019 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character. Produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the seventh installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).

Directed by David F. Sandberg from a screenplay by Henry Gayden, and a story by Gayden and Darren Lemke, the film stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage boy who can transform into an adult superhero, played by Zachary Levi. Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, and Djimon Hounsou also star. The plot follows Billy Batson, who is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam as his new champion and receives various superpowers. Billy and his best friend Freddy Freeman (Grazer) must discover Billy’s new powers in order to stop the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong) and the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.

Development of a live-action Shazam! film began at New Line in the early 2000s but was delayed for many years. The film went into pre-production in 2009 with director Peter Segal and writer John August and Dwayne Johnson considered to star as the villain Black Adam, but the project fell through; Dwayne Johnson acts as an executive producer on Shazam!. William Goldman, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, Bill Birch, and Geoff Johns, among others, were all attached to the project as writers at various points.

The film was officially announced in 2014, with Johnson attached to star as either Shazam or Black Adam. He would later be cast in January 2017 to lead a solo Black Adam development project. Sandberg signed on to direct Shazam! in February 2017 and Levi was cast that October, with Angel joining the following month. Principal photography began in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on January 29, 2018, with most of the film shot at Pinewood Toronto Studios, and wrapped on May 11, 2018.

Shazam! was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX on April 5, 2019. The film grossed over $366 million worldwide, making it the second lowest-grossing film of the DCEU but still a box office success. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Sandberg’s direction and the performances of Levi, Grazer, and Angel, as well as its light tone and sense of fun.^[6] A sequel is set for release on April 1, 2022.