Yes, you read that right. The Smallville alum who played Aquaman in the Superman prequel series wants to return as another DC Superhero, this time as Shazam. Shazam is scheduled to have his cinematic debut in 2019 with director David S. Sandberg (Lights Out) working behind the scenes.
Alan Ritchson is a familiar face to DC fans. On the long time running Smallville series, the actor played the young Arthur Curry aka Aquaman, which later led to the assembly of a makeshift Justice League for the show, which brought together Clark Kent, Green Arrow, Impulse, Cyborg, and Aquaman. While his role as Arthur Curry didn’t made a major presence in the show, the actor somehow enjoyed recent success starring in other films such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and playing the badass Raphael in the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series. He also stars on the grindhouse inspired Syfy series, Blood Drive.
Right now, it seems that he wants to take his chances at playing another iconic superhero. Recently, a fan tweeted the uncanny resemblance of the actor and Shazam in DC Film’s stock artwork. Ritchson tweeted back teasing the possibility on him playing the superhero.
Alan Ritchson is obviously messing with the fans but it gets us all desperate when it comes to DC casting news these days, taking note that Shazam is near the top of that list.
The story tells about a young 12 year old homeless boy who was granted magical powers by a wizard. Billy Batson can transform himself into a super powered adult when he utters the word “Shazam.” He may be Supes’ physical equal, but Shazam still possesses the mind of an adolescent. It is one heck of a ride as one fulfills his dreams to be a superhero.
For the past few weeks, we have been receiving rumors about Shazam. It has been confirmed that February next year the Shazam production will start and with it the confirmation that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam will not be joining the movie. There’s also a rumor that actor Armie Hammer (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) has been cast but the actor clarified the rumor saying that he hasn’t been approached by DC.
Ritchson in one solid actor, notably in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, but playing Shazam will challenge him to buff up, like what Henry Cavill did for Superman. But the most challenging part will be having the mind of a twelve year old boy. Shazam will be the most interesting role one actor can play in the superhero films.
