Is Shazam in Black Adam?

Cameron Frew
Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam and Zachary Levi as Shazam

Is Shazam in Black Adam? With Dwayne Johnson’s anti-hero debuting in cinemas tomorrow, we’re here to answer: does Zachary Levi’s Shazam cameo in the movie?

After more than a decade of development and months of marketing, the hierarchy of the DC universe is finally about to change with Black Adam, with The Rock starring as the eponymous “god.”

While Johnson has turned the movie’s press tour into hype for a possible Superman cameo – if you want to know if the rumors about Henry Cavill are true, click here – many fans are wondering: where the hell is Shazam?

The Big Red Cheese has a major role to play in Black Adam’s story – so, is Shazam in Black Adam, and will the two characters ever meet?

Spoilers for Black Adam to follow…

Is Shazam in Black Adam?

No, Zachary Levi’s Shazam does not appear in Black Adam – however, Johnson has been open about wanting Black Adam to meet his nemesis on the big screen.

Will Black Adam fight Shazam in a future movie?

In the DC comics, Black Adam is Shazam’s nemesis, and both were given their powers from the ancient wizard Shazam.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Johnson explained how under original plans, Black Adam would have first appeared in the 2019 film alongside Levi, a notion he quickly nixed.

“When the first draft of the movie came to us, it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam: two origin stories in one movie. Now that was the goal – so it wasn’t a complete surprise.

“But when I read that, I just knew in my gut, ‘We can’t make this movie like this. We would be doing Black Adam an incredible disservice.’ It would’ve been fine for Shazam having two origin stories converge in one movie, but not good for Black Adam.”

In another interview shared on Twitter by @AjepArts, Johnson confirmed he wants Black Adam to crossover with Shazam in a future movie.

“We have to respect Shazam and his origin story, that has to be its own movie. Respect Black Adam, this has to be its own movie. Build them up, and then you can do this,” he said.

Speaking at Dragon-Con in 2021, Levi said he’d “love to punch The Rock in the face… it would be a dream,” but admitted he couldn’t speculate as it was “way above [his] pay grade.”

As per The Direct, he said: “I have no idea how all of these things are going to ultimately carve up. I know that he’s a very busy man, and very successful. Again, very busy doing other movies. So, I don’t know if and when there is ever going to be that. I hope so!

“Given the comic and the canon and all that stuff, I think it would be a bummer if Captain Marvel and Black Adam didn’t have at least their one meeting, whatever that’s going to be. You know, I’ll just show up and put on the suit.”

Black Adam hits cinemas on October 21.

About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, and Oscars enthusiast. He loves Invincible, but he's also a fan of The Boys, the MCU, The Chosen, and much more. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.