Early last year, when Shazam! was still filming in Toronto, I got to visit the set with a few other reporters. While I was optimistic going in based on everything I’d heard about the upcoming DC film, being on set left me even more excited. One of the main reasons was director David Sandberg. Even though he was coming off two smaller scale movies (Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation), both showed someone who clearly knew what he was doing behind the camera and I was excited to see what he would do next.

During a break in filming, I got to participate in a group interview with David Sandberg where he talked about a myriad of subjects like how he was going to handle the magic, what comics he was looking at for guidance, how it’s a very different tone than Justice League, why he wanted to helm the project, how he put together the cast, how he was trying to do a lot of the film practically, how the film is both self-contained but is also part of a bigger universe, how the 3rd act isn’t about the end of the world, and a lot more.

Scripted by Henry Gayden (Earth to Echo) from a story by Gayden and Darren Lemke (Goosebumps), Shazam! tells the story of a 14-year-old boy named Billy who, when he shouts the word “SHAZAM!”, can turn into an adult superhero. Asher Angel plays Billy, while Chuck star Zachary Levi plays the adult Shazam. It breakout Jack Dylan Grazer plays Billy’s best friend Freddy Freeman. Shazam! also stars Djimon Hounsou, Grace FultonFaithe HermanIan ChenJovan ArmandCooper Andrews, and Marta Milans.

Check out what David Sanberg had to say below. Shazam! opens in theaters on April 5th.

Question: We learned a lot about the story, and I'm curious during the development process, how much did this story change along the way, and how much is it what you first discussed?

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Image via Warner Bros.

DAVID SANDBERG: The core of it didn't change so much. There's some things about like the sins and stuff like how they worked, and yeah. I can talk about that right?

Oh, yeah.

SANDBERG: No, just having fun with sort of how the sins worked and everything, because I wanted to do something a little different from ... like in the Geoff Johns versions you have ... they look very different, because you have one that looks like a person, one that looks like a monster, and I wanted to go more sort of monster route and also do cool stuff with the mechanics of how they go between solid form and ghost form and how challenging that is to fight and stuff like that.

You're the first DC movie to in production after Justice League. I want to know how the result ... the critical reaction, and sort of everything reacting to that movie changed this movie at all. Obviously, this is a bright movie. It's sort of dark. Was there any ...

SANDBERG: I mean, it's such a separate film that I don't think it changed anything really. It's very different from Justice League. It's still the same universe, but just has a very different tone, and it's not ... yeah.

Do you think about any of that, the past criticism of DC movie?

SANDBERG: Not really.

The comic Shazam is lesser known for some people.

SANDBERG: Yeah.

Is there any character you were particularly interested in when the project came up, or that you knew about?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: He was lesser known to me as well when they approached me. Yeah, I was just vaguely familiar, so I did like a deep dive research kind of thing after.

What was it about the character that made you want to take on this project?

SANDBERG: Well, basically they told me, "Oh, it's like Big with superpowers." It's like, that sounds awesome. Like there's so much you can have with that wish fulfillment of this kid who gets to become a superhero and try out all these things. Yeah, it just felt very unique.

Is there any talk, or was there any talk about putting the Zoltar machine in the amusement park, and can you still do this?

SANDBERG: Well, yeah, maybe we can. Well, we actually have other references to Big.

Does it involve the Chopsticks?

SANDBERG: You'll have to see exactly what they are. Yeah, there's a couple of them actually.

You kind of briefly touched on it, and it's something we keep hearing a lot about, is the tone of the movie. So like, can you break it down maybe in your terms what you consider the tone?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: It's sort of a ... Yeah, it's a fun movie…Like, it's not like a pure comedy, because you still have those ... touches some pretty dark subjects and some pretty scary monsters, but it's more of ... I like to compare it to like '80s movies, like Goonies, and Ghostbusters, and Back To the Future. Like, that sort of like, "Oh, it's a family kind of ... " It's not dark and gritty.

This movie deals with this magical corner of the D.C. universe that has never been explored on film, so there-

SANDBERG: Which is great when it's like, "Well, how do we explain that?" Well, it's magic so it's like, finally.

But the sins and this set in particular, like, there is this kind of very serious magical vibe to it, and it's so different than the warmth we're seeing with Asher and Zach and everything else. How do you balance that duality within the movie?

SANDBERG: Yeah, you just have to sort of take the magic sort of seriously and have it like a very real world thing to make it feel like, "Oh, it's actually ... " You have to not have it feel too foreign or weird, so it's, yeah, playing the magic very straight and the sins and stuff like that, but it's almost like a little ... Yeah, it's my monster movie that I'm finally making.

Can you talk about the casting a little bit? How did you end up with Zach, what did he bring to the table?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: We did very extensive casting. We read, I think it was over a hundred people for the role of Shazam. I mean, that's usually the case. You just read tons and tons of people until you see some ... You see right away that it's like, "Ooh, that's the guy." And that's kind of what happened with Zach once I saw ... He had self-taped and sent that in. And so, I ... "Ooh, that's the guy."

There's a big battle sequence in the mall, in the toy store, and I'm just curious when you're filming at a toy store where there's ... you're in the DC universe and the characters are known, as a director, what do you want to see on the toy shelves that maybe don't exist in the real world but you can have fun with on set?

SANDBERG: For that, I mean, everything exists that we had in there. It's all these, yeah, DC toys, and ...

Well, was there anything you created specifically for the toy set?

SANDBERG: No, it was sort ... No, they're all sort of real DC toys that are in there. I mean, some were like, "Hey, you can't have that character, because that character's not in the universe yet. You have to stick to these characters.

You mentioned Geoff Johns' run, and in that, the wizard Shazam and the council kind of really cracked open that entire world of magic. Do you allude to any of that in this film?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: Yeah, we definitely allude to that.

Can you talk about the comics influence? We heard earlier that you were influenced by the new 52, and that kind of influenced the costumes and what-not. Can you talk about the influence that you pulled from the comics and maybe some of the changes that you went through in costume design?

SANDBERG: Yeah, I wanted to incorporate a little bit of everything, not just in 52, but the older stuff as well, which is ... The suit is one part of that where it's like, "Yeah, I want the shorter cape of like the Golden Age comics." But then we ... And like, "Let's try the hood from the new 52." And little things like that, and trying to balance it. So we have things and references from the old comics, but a lot of the story takes inspiration from the new 52. So it's a combination of like, "Oh, I like this, and we like that, and let's put it together."

In the sizzle reel we saw ... it seemed like there was a lot of practical effects. How many ... Obviously, you can make them fly and stuff sort of practically, but how much is that are you doing, and how much is gonna be digital?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: As much as possible. I mean, some things you just can't do, like the sins, you have to make them CGI with what they do and everything, but we try to as much as we can practically with explosions and flying ... being on wires and all of that. Yeah, take it as far as we can, and then CG will have to take over when we can't get there.

Can you talk about the relationship that we ... You gave a little information on Shazam and Freddy as the resident superhero expert. Can you talk a little bit about bringing that to the film and the fun that, that sets up?

SANDBERG: Yeah, it's basically two kids having fun with superpowers, but one of them is like an adult, which just already just visually, it's like funny with this little kid and this big guy, and they're like, "Oh, awesome." And doing all these things. And then we got really lucky again with casting, with Jack Dylan Grazer and Zach Levi together, are like awesome, because a lot of times when we're shooting, I'll just wait to yell cut, because they always keep going and add little things. And most of that won’t end up in the movie, but it's like, I like to see what happens, because no two takes are ever the same with those two as well, because they always are challenging things up, and yeah.

In what ways are you setting up Shazam for the greater D.C. universe and the upcoming Black Adam movie?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: Well, I mean, this movie's mostly just about introducing Billy Batson and Shazam, and who he is, how he came to be. Yeah, it takes place in this DC world, where all these heroes exist, but in some ways, yeah, it's both sort of self-contained, while also being a part of something bigger. But yeah, that's a non-answer.

How much effort was there to make sure it worked self-contained ? Where like in Justice League, that movie works better if you've seen other movies before it. So how much did you sort of think of like that as you're developing the movie?

SANDBERG: No, in that case, it's very standalone. Like, you don't have to have seen any of the other films, because it's its own contained story really. Yeah, it's just more the world of it that's part of it.

Can you tell us a little bit about Mark Strong as a villain? He's one of the few parts of the Green Lantern movie that people don't usually criticize.

SANDBERG: Yeah.

So, and he talked about how this was kind of a second chance at playing the villain but…

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: Yeah, and he really enjoys playing a villain as well. He really has fun with being a bad guy, which is great, because it's just so fun to watch with someone who enjoys being evil. Yeah, we're very lucky to get him, because he's such a great actor.

Is there any sort of fun Easter egg to his character from Green Lantern in this movie?

SANDBERG: No, there isn't.

A lot of superhero movies kind of go overboard with their final act, but what we've seen from these big action sequences here, they're all kind of these relatively personal spaces, like a mall, or a winter carnival. Is that something that kind of carries through the whole movie?

SANDBERG: Yeah, it's a very sort of personal story, and it's not ... which I like, because I find it more engaging when it's not like an entire world and everything, like it's blue beam in the sky and Robin coming in, and like, so it's fun where it's like ... Yeah, this whole carnival is in danger and all these people, and you can be saved, and it's more manageable and I think it's more engaging as well.

Have you commiserated at all with James Wan as both of you are making your DC comic book movies at the same time?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: I actually haven't seen him in a long while now. I may not have seen him since before he went off to shoot. So, no, we haven't really talked about that. We've emailed about some things, but no, not really.

Can you talk about the setting? I mean, this is like set during Christmastime, like the wintertime. Is there a purpose for choosing that specific time and setting for this film?

SANDBERG: It's a lot about family and Christmastime and this family holiday. And it's about like finding your family with these foster kids and everything. So yeah, it was just very appropriate for the story. It just meant that we had to shoot it here in winter, which has been pretty brutal. Shoot it all on location during nights, because they were like ... They were telling me like, "If you shoot the carnival during the day, you get more kid hours, everything will be easier." And I was like, "Well, it's not gonna look good with all the lights and everything." So yeah, so we've been shooting it during the nights and it's been pretty miserable.

Have you already thought about post credit scenes and what you want to do, or is it something you think about in the editing room?

SANDBERG: We already thought about that, yeah.

Was there ever a version of this project ... I know earlier ones always involved Dwayne Johnson's character. Was that already gone, is that already off the table by the time you came on board?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: Yeah, when I came on board, it was like, "Yeah, we're doing a standalone Shazam movie." Yeah, and I know they've been sort of ... The project has I think has existed in various forms before, but I haven't really ... I'm not really familiar with all of that.

Was there a reason that you chose Philly? Like, even ignoring the fact that it's not Fawcett City.

SANDBERG: Well, we went with Geoff Johns' idea. I think he picked Philly because of Benjamin Franklin and all of that stuff. And the thing about Shazam, or Captain Marvel, is it's been different ... It was Fawcett City at some point, but I think originally, it was New York, and like it’s been ... So it's not like, "Oh, it has to be Metropolis or something." It can be anything really.

So you've mentioned the new 52 to and currently since Rebirth in DC, we haven't had a Billy Batson character active in comics. Has there been any effort, or anything that you've worked closely with Geoff Johns in this movie that might launch some new DC books, or has that been something that you've been thinking about, like what could spin out of this movie into the comics?

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Image via Warner Bros.

SANDBERG: I know there's some comic plans, but I don't know a lot about them, just little bits and pieces, but I think they definitely want to do more with Billy Batson and Shazam.

Can you talk about the learning curve of this movie for you as a director, you going from two small budgeted horror movies to something epic like this?

SANDBERG: Yeah, it's quite a marathon. Like, it's a lot of work. Yeah, it's a very different way of working, just because you have to do all this previs, and like plan everything out months in advance. And then when you're shooting it ... It's not always as fun as shooting a smaller movie, because you have to shoot ... Oh, today we're shooting this little piece, and this little piece, because this piece is second unit, this is on blue screen, this is CGI. It's a lot of things to keep track of. So the shooting is not always fun, but the result is so much more awesome than ... when you have when you have these kinds of resources. So yeah, it's been a lot of work. I mean, especially like now, we're shooting main unit during the day and second unit is shooting during the night. And I want to be part of as much of it as possible, so I'm not getting a lot of sleep, but it's ... Yeah, we're doing some cool stuff.

For more on Shazam!, check out the links below:

Here’s the official synopsis for Shazam!:

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), 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 Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).

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