It star Jack Dylan Grazer is graduating to the DC universe.
The actor has joined the cast of New Line’s Shazam!, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The film centers on a boy named Billy Batson who transforms into the adult superhero Captain Marvel by uttering the magic words “Shazam!” Grazer will play Batson’s best friend and confidant Freddy Freeman, the only person who knows Billy’s superhero secret. In the comics, Freddy eventually becomes a hero in his own right and adopts the identity of Captain Marvel Jr.
David F. Sandberg is directing Shazam! for New Line Cinema. Zachary Levi stars as the hero Captain Marvel, while Mark Strong is playing the villain, Captain Marvel’s longtime arch-nemesis Doctor Sivana.
Grazer was among the young actors to break out with this summer’s It, in which he played the hypochondriac member of the Losers Club, Eddie Kaspbrak. The Stephen King adaptation was a big success, scaring up an impressive $694 million worldwide on a $35 million budget.
Shazam! does not have a release date and is eyeing a February start date in Toronto. The film is being developed concurrently with a project focusing on Shazam! villain Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson.
