'Shazam!' Funko POP Toys Spoil A Key Plot Point And Confirm Rumor
When Warner Bros. and DC gave Aquaman a December 2018 release date, it was clear that the focus would be on that film for the final part of the year. But it's been over a month since that film splashed down in theaters, and attention is slowly turning back to Shazam!, the studio's next major superhero movie. As the Zachary Levi-fronted comedy approaches its release date, a pair of Funko Pop! toys have seemingly spoiled one of the movie's key plot points and confirmed a rumor that first popped up almost a year ago.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
To understand these photos and what they mean, here's an extremely brief crash course to make sure we're all on the same page. Shazam! follows a young boy named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who gains the power to transform into a full-grown superhero (Levi). In 2011, DC revamped their entire comic book line of titles, calling it the New 52. Here's Wikipedia's description of how Shazam! was effected in the relaunch:
The revamp began with a seven-issue miniseries, Flashpoint, which features an alternate timeline in which Billy Batson, Mary Batson, and Freddy Freeman are joined by three new kids, Eugene Choi, Pedro Peña, and Darla Dudley, as the "S! H! A! Z! A! M! Family." In this concept, all six kids say "Shazam!" in unison to become an alternate version of Captain Marvel named Captain Thunder. While the continuity would be altered by the conclusion of the story, created the "New 52" multiverse, the three new Shazam! kids would be reintroduced for later appearances.
What does that have to do with the upcoming movie? Well, ComicBookResources points us to two photos of Funko POP! toys which depict two of those supporting characters, Darla and Eugene, in full-blown superhero suits of their own.
While there's technically a chance these toys could have been based on an earlier version of the script which has since been changed, let's assume these characters are actually going to appear in the film in this capacity. Back in April of last year, a rumor was floating around that Adam Brody (The O.C.), D.J. Cotrona (G.I. Joe: Retaliation), Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why), Michelle Borth (Hawaii Five-O), and Meagan Good (Brick) had secretly joined the Shazam! cast to play the adult versions of several of the film's characters. ScreenRant had the breakdown of who is supposedly playing whom:
Adam Brody – Freddy Freeman
Ross Butler – Eugene
Meagan Good – Darla
Michelle Borth – Mary
D.J. Cotrona – Pedro
Putting all of the pieces together, it certainly seems as if these toy photos confirm the notion that we're going to see these actors suiting up alongside Zachary Levi as the Shazam Family on the big screen. A plot point that large probably wouldn't be revealed in any of the marketing ahead of time, so it looks like this is yet another situation in which a toy spoils a key element of a highly-anticipated superhero movie.
Shazam! arrives in theaters on April 5, 2019.