'Shazam' Casts The Wizard With 'This Is Us' Actor Ron Cephas Jones

New Line and DC's Shazam! movie has found their version of The Wizard. A new report claims that This Is Us star Ron Cephas Jones is in talks for a key role in the film, and you can read all about it below.

The Wrap says that Ron Cephas Jones, who's also appeared on shows like Mr. Robot, The Get Down, and Luke Cage, is in talks to play The Wizard, a powerful and ancient being who's shrouded in mystery.Shazam! tells the story of a young boy named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who has the ability to transform into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) simply by uttering the word "Shazam!" Each letter in that name stands for one of the "immortal elders": Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The Wizard is the one who grants this power to Batson in the first place, placing him squarely into an archetype also inhabited by beings like Green Lantern's Abin Sur (who gifted test pilot Hal Jordan with his ring). While he's traditionally been imagined as a literal wizard, more recent interpretations of the character have been much darker and stranger, more reflective of an eternal being than a Gandalf-type.

There's a chance this may not be the first time we've see this character on the big screen in a DC film. Justice League contained an epic battle scene that took place thousands of years in the past, and an ancient version of Shazam could be seen fighting off Steppenwolf and his hordes. Could that have been The Wizard himself?

Mark Strong has been cast as the movie's villain, Doctor Thaddeus Sivana (super original casting pick, DC), The Walking Dead's Cooper Andrews will play one of Billy's foster parents, and It star Jack Dylan Grazer is also on board, playing Billy's best friend Freddy Freeman.Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out director David F. Sandberg is directing, while the script comes from Darren Lemke (Goosebumps) and Henry Gayden (Earth to Echo). The film recently received a release date that puts it one month before Avengers 4. Shazam! will arrive in theaters on April 5, 2019.