Zachary Levi broke into the leading superhero business with the DC film Shazam! but what may be unknown to many fans is that he almost starred in another big superhero franchise — and we aren’t talking about his role as Fandral in Thor: The Dark World. The DC actor came really close to landing the part of Star-Lord in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
In an interview with The Playlist on its podcast The Fourth Wall, Levi delved into his history with Gunn. Their friendship not only lead to Levi getting as far as screen testing for Star-Lord, but eventually landed his Shazam role as well. In Levi's words:
"James and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other's homes, had a lot of mutual friends. And so he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden I was camera testing. Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like so, so, so, so bad. It came down to me, one other guy, and Chris Pratt, but Chris was always their favorite and he was hesitant to take it.”
Though Levi couldn’t secure the part, it wasn’t his only chance at becoming a hero on the big screen. As it turns out, his audition left an impression on Gunn, who would reportedly later convince Shazam! producer Peter Safran to give Levi a chance. "Was that the thing that sent it all over for me?” Levi commented. “I don't know that, but I'm sure it was part of that conversation, absolutely. I'm indebted to James that he would believe in me enough to remember that and pass that info on."
No matter what convinced the casting agents to give Levi a shot, fans could not be happier with the performance. Shazam! grossed $366 million worldwide over its theatrical run and Levi was praised for his performance as Billy Batson’s alter ego Shazam.
The sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods is scheduled to release on June 2, 2023. Levi will reprise his role alongside Asher Angel as Billy Batson. A spinoff of the movie titled Black Adam is also in the works to be released in July 2022 starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and there's already some speculation that the character could appear in Fury of the Gods thanks to a teasing image from director David F. Sandberg.