CBR: Geoff Johns to Co-Write "Shazam!" Film

[CBR News]

Geoff Johns will co-write a new Captain Marvel feature based on the "Shazam!" family of DC Comics superheroes. Peter Segal is still expected to direct the picture, which has seen many re-writes in the past.


Full article here.

[Brother Justin Crowe]

Too bad Jeff Smith probably wasn't even considered. Shazam! and the Monster Society of Evil is the definitive modern take on the character.

[West Mantooth]

Wow. Johns is like a kid in a candy store. He's getting his hands on everything.

[bigbluntz]

Cool another reason not to watch this movie

[hondobrode]

Go Geoff !

I think intermixing live action, CGI and more traditional animation would be very cool.

Tawky Tawny, Mr. Mind, the old Wizard, etc.

Could be great.

[CMBMOOL]

YES!!!

This is great news for Shazam fans.

[Arvandor]

Cool another reason not to watch this movie

Agreed. He is such a hack.

[Chien Andalusia]

Too bad Jeff Smith probably wasn't even considered. Shazam! and the Monster Society of Evil is the definitive modern take on the character.

Consider that seconded! I don't doubt Geoff Johns' knowledge of the character (hell, his comics sometimes feel more like reading a Wiki on the DCU than actual comics), it's just that the mainstream DCU version of The Marvel Family has been severely messed up in recent years and that includes how the characters have been approached in some of Johns' titles. The most recent example that comes to mind being Mary Marvel's redemption in Final Crisis being written off towards the end of his recent JSA run. I'm just afraid that he'll try to bring about an "edgy" and "serious" take on the character and risk sacrficing the sense of good natured fun, charm and goofiness that I believe form the appeal of Captain Marvel, family and supporting cast members. This, of course, is my personal take and I would be interseted in finding out how other forum members feel on this issue.

[Karl O'Neill]

Great news for Geoff and all the shazam fans.

Now they need to start casting.

[Pól Rua]

And it's another great day for crowd-pleasing mediocrity...

Thank goodness they got rid of that hack who wrote 'Princess Bride', now we're gonna see a REAL writer at work!

[Mundungus]

Hey, that's cool.

I don't know how well Shazam! will translate to the screen, especially depending on the audience they're trying to reach. I feel like certain people (pretty much comic book people) will be able to digest it better than others.

I feel like they could lose some of the concept's charm if they try to adapt it in such a way that they think will appease mainstream audiences.

Still, I like Geoff Johns' work, so I'll wait and see. Good luck!

[zebramag]

Since John August showed no real interest in the character at all, I have been overjoyed that he was removed from the project. The writer behind the 'Charlie's Angels' films saw Shazam as 'Big' with super powers and viewed the classic comics as not worth his time. I think that August's asinine behavior on his own blog disrespecting the original works was an act in order to generate interest from fans, but it may have been genuine.

August was using only recent comics as a guide on the character. This reliance solely on the recent (admittedly confused) take on Shazam would not have resulted in a good movie that was respectful to the character. You can see what I mean here: http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/...-marvel-reader

"DC publishes hardcover anthologies that gather up decades’ worth of Captain Marvel comics. If I were writing a dissertation on the evolution of the Captain Marvel character, these would be invaluable. But I’m not. So every time I read one of these, I’m struck with the same realization I encounter trying to watch The Honeymooners or a black-and-white movie: Wow. Old things suck.

"Yes, I know that will piss off the vintage comics fans, who insist that the original incarnations are the purest forms of a character. But what you quickly realize is that old-time comic books were awkwardly written, crudely drawn, and bewilderingly inconsistent with their rules. They were making up the art form as they went along, and today’s comic books are better for the accumulated wisdom."

Even if you dislike Johns as a writer you can't deny that he does show extensive knowledge of the source material in each project that he works on. I think that this will be reflected in the finished product resulting in a decent movie... if it ever gets done.

If memory serves 2007 was meant to be 'the Year of Captain Marvel' with Jeff Smith's book, a cartoon and live action film released in sequence.

[4thHorseman]

Congrats to Geoff, especially on all of his luck recently.

Though count me as the 3rd person who would have liked to see Jeff Smith on the movie instead of Johns.

[jed63]

While I definately loved Smith's take on the character, Johns is probably more qualified to be involved in taking the character to the big screen due to his experience with Donner.

[The Xenos]

My gods... getting a writer from the comic books to write a comic book character! This is madness I say! Madness!

Not sure how experienced Johns is with Captain Marvel, but it's stilla step in the right damn direction.