DC's Shazam: Plot Revealed In New Synopsis

As director David F. Sandberg revealed last week, DC's superhero adventure Shazam is now in production. The movie stars Thor actor Zachary Levi in the title role, Asher Angel as his young alter ego Billy Batson, and Mark Strong as the evil Doctor Sivana. It's set to hit theaters in April next year, and Warner has now released an official synopsis for the movie.

As Sandberg hinted last year, the synopsis confirms that the movie will have a more lighthearted tone than many of DC's movies. As in the comic books, the story will focus on teenage Billy, who becomes an adult superhero by saying a single word.

The synopsis reads: "We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word--SHAZAM!--this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard.

"Still a kid at heart--inside a ripped, godlike body--Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he'll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Doctor Thaddeus Sivana."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was previously announced in the role of Shazam's nemesis Black Adam, but it was subsequently confirmed that he will not feature in Shazam. However, he is still set to appear in a spin-off movie.

Shazam first appeared in 1939, when he was known by the name Captain Marvel. The character was bought by DC in 1971, when he was renamed, due to Marvel's ownership of the name Captain Marvel. A live action Shazam TV show was broadcast in the mid-'70s, while an animated show followed in 1981.