While Shazam! is one of the most beloved entries in the DCEU, Zachary Levi's performance as the titular hero was divisive to say the least. Some fans complained that they found his take on the role too childish compared to Asher Angel's performance as Billy Batson.
The criticism continued in Shazam! Fury of the Gods earlier this year as Billy matured in the sequel, contrasting Levi's performance, which fans saw as dialed-up and childish.
In a recent interview, Levi laid bare the thinking behind his divisive performance. Love it or hate it, here's what "childish" Shazam was really about.
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Zachary Levi Responds to Criticism on Shazam Performance
In an interview with Screen Rant, Zachary Levi addressed criticism of his performance as Shazam in the DCEU movies and explained why he made certain creative choices when he portrayed the character.
"From the first movie to the second, I tried to age him as Billy ages, you know, in his actual younger teen form. Inside, he’s aging too. Obviously, in the first film, he was like 15, and in the second he’s 17-ish, almost 18," he said.
"So I tried to address that and bring that into the character, which ironically, in some ways, kind of made him feel almost a little more immature."
Levi added, "But that’s because when he’s 15, he’s not trying to be cool guy, when he’s 17, he’s trying to be cool guy, he’s trying to be the leader, and he’s trying to kind of put on that bravado more."
It's clear Levi put a good deal of thought into this character, even if to fans the resulting performance seemed out-of-nowehere, especially in comparison to other characters, such as Angel.
With Fury of the Gods underperforming at the box office, Levi has admitted he's not sure whether he will be returning to the role in the upcoming DCU reboot under James Gunn and Peter Safran. That said, fans shouldn't assume his tenure in the role is quite over at this point.
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