Another Writer Tackles Captain Marvel for 'Shazam!'

DC Comics is still trying to get Shazam! off the ground, and now the studio has handed the script over to Bill Birch, late of the screenplay for One Finger Salute to see if Captain Marvel can finally cut through. Methinks the issue might be with the property. I mean, if John August and William Goldman can't separately come up with ideas you're happy with...that's a you a problem, not a them problem. Have no doubt, though, Warner Bros. and DC will cram this sucker into some kind of neat packaging for a predetermined release date soon enough. Peter Segal, who directed Get Smart most recently, is still signed on to direct, although there's no word in the Variety report about whether or not Dwayne Johnson will still play the bad guy, Black Adam, if he might instead segue into the hero role, or if he's involved at all. There is, of course, a mad rush to put comic book properties on screen, but it's worth noting that it seems to have hit a tipping point where the sense behind making the movies is muted by the belief that we could always use more. It's slightly different than the current horror remake trend, because with comics, obviously, there's a lot to cull from, and fans want the best representations of their favorite characters on screen. I'd like to see Captain Marvel done the right way, but according to August, who blogged about being off the project several months ago, "I can say with considerable certainty that it won't be the version I developed."