Zachary Levi has responded to rumours that he’s about to be kicked out of the DC Extended Universe by co-chief James Gunn, following a period of serious upheaval at DC Studios.
Since October, when James Gunn and Peter Safran were placed in joint control of the DC Universe, it’s fair to say there has been a bit of change.
A new Wonder Woman film has been scrapped, with headline star Gal Gadot forced to backtrack on how ‘excited’ she was to be a part of it.
Then, Henry Cavill was told that he’d been given the hook from his role as Superman, despite not much time passing since he’d spoken about how glad he was to be back in the blue and red suit.
Whilst Gunn has responded angrily to some claims that Gadot was ‘booted’ from the franchise, he’s not shied away from the fact that there have been - and will continue to be - big changes.
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Now, Shazam! actor Zachary Levi has weighed in on his own potential removal from planet DC.
Responding to rumours that he’s set to be recast because of his age, Levi posted a taunting remark that's difficult not to interpret as aimed at the Guardians of the Galaxy director.
When one Twitter user shared a post that pointed out his age and said ‘for [James Gunn’s] standards [Zachary Levi] is a grandpa, he gotta go’, Levi hit back: “Ageist.”
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It’s only fair to point out that Lewis has not actually been recast yet at all, but it would be in keeping with what has happened so far at DC under Safran and Gunn’s leadership.
Gunn has spoken before about how he wants to rebuilt the DC Universe in his own image, and that means starting over on a few franchises.
Despite Black Adam being a success, it seems as if Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson won’t be returning for a sequel to that.
Cavill is out as Superman, with rumours suggesting that is because of his age, too.
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Gunn has addressed the atmosphere since the pair took over recently, calling some of the backlash ‘unkind’.
In a tweet, he said that when he and Safran agreed to take over, they knew that a ‘certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least’.
He added: “We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us.”
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“No one loves to be harassed or called names – but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse.
“Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions.”
He concluded: “Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind.”
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We’ll just have to see what they do next.
Given what has already happened, it could honestly be anything.
Topics: DC Comics, Celebrity, Film and TV
Tom Wood