Billy Batson and the Power of Shazam! #7
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Actor-turned-writer Bill Birch has been tapped to reboot "Shazam!," Warners' adaptation of a DC Comics series featuring Captain Marvel.
Geoff Johns, one of the three DC Comics heavyweights hired by the studio to act as consultants on DC projects, is also helping with the kick-start, co-writing the story with Birch.
Captain Marvel was arguably the most popular super-hero during the Golden Age of comics, regularly outselling Superman. When pre-teen Billy Batson shouts the name of the wizard, Shazam, he is imbued with the powers and abilities of gods and mortals of legend, turning him into Earth’s mightiest mortal, Captain Marvel.
But when Captain Marvel publisher, Fawcett Comics ran into legal problems due to similarities with DC Comics’ Superman, they stopped publishing the character.
Fawcett eventually licensed Captain Marvel and his supporting cast to DC Comics in the early 70s, but in an ironic twist, DC Comics could not use the phrase “Captain Marvel” in the title because rival Marvel Comics had already established another character by that name with his own series. Ever since, DC Comics has instead used Billy’s magic word, “Shazam!” in titles, causing some people to think this is Captain Marvel’s name.
Since the mid-80s, Captain Marvel has had short stints in both the Justice League and Justice Society of America. He’s also starred in a number of solo series, and currently has a series in DC’s Johnny DC imprint.
Geoff Johns has had some experience writing for Captain Marvel, having written his tenure in JSA. He’s also written episodes of Smallville and Blade: The Series. In addition, he also wrote a stretch of Action Comics with friend, mentor and Superman director, Richard Donner.
Oh, and he's also the mastermind behind Blackest Night.
Johns’ writing partner on the Captain Marvel project is Bill Burch, an actor who has had guest appearances on several TV shows. Peter Segal (Get Smart) is set to direct. No release date has been given.
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