Mark Strong has an affinity for villains. Maybe it’s the accent, maybe it’s the fact that they often get the best lines – either way, he tends to skew towards the dark side. That’s certainly the case in Shazam!, the DCEU’s Big-but-superheroes outing that looks set to bring much-needed color and humour to the universe inhabited by Batman and Superman. The film finds Strong playing Dr. Thaddeus Sivana – an evil genius with designs on making Shazam’s powers his own. Empire has an exclusive image, as seen in the new Ultimate 2019 Preview issue, of the pair facing off.
Tasked with staving off Dr. Sivana’s nefarious plans is the film’s titular hero – teen Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel, which itself sounds like a superhero’s alter-ego) who transforms into a primary-colored adult hero (Zachary Levi) at command after being given powers by an ageing wizard. Sounds like a fair fight.
Read more about Shazam! in the February 2019 issue of Empire, on sale now in newsagents and online. The film arrives in UK cinemas on 5 April.
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