Zachary Levi Defends James Gunn, Peter Safran: They Need ‘Time to Make Something Special’

New DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran have only been on their post since October, but their new direction for the franchise has already caused controversy in the fandom, between the news that Henry Cevill will not return as Superman and the benching of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. But another current star of the franchise, Zachary Levi of the “Shazam!” films, came to the new CEOs defense on an Instagram Live Thursday night, telling fans not to believe in “conjecture” and “rumor mills.”

“You have no idea the reasonings behind any of the decisions that are going on,” Levi said during his Instagram Live. “The amount of conjecture and rumor mill and drama and nonsense that keeps getting spun around out there on Instagram and Twitter is laughable. It is unbelievably laughable.”

Levi, who is set to return as Shazam! in the March 2023 sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” encouraged fans to be patient and trust Gunn and Safran’s vision, saying they’re attempting to build a universe in a way that other DC creatives like Zack Snyder failed to do, and that the two CEOs are “not just making decisions because they like someone or don’t like someone.”

“I would just say be patient, and give them some space and some time to try and really make something special. And I think something that DC deserves to have, and something that Snyder tried to do and it just didn’t ultimately materialize,” Levi said. “They’re making decisions based on what is best for Warner Bros., DC, that entire studio and entity and trying to make as many fans, as much of an audience, happy as they can.”

“If you’re out there and really like what happened before, you can do that, that’s fine. But realize that there’s a lot of people who didn’t like those things, and we should always be trying to tap into as much audience as possible, make as many people happy as possible,” Levi continued. “That’s what we’re in entertainment for, and that’s what I think Peter and James are trying to do. And it’s not an easy position, they got handed all these things that were already in a lot of conflict. So guys, just fucking give ’em a break. Take it easy. Take a breath. It’s the holidays, for god’s sake. Just go enjoy what the holidays are, give them some time to enjoy the holidays, and let’s see what happens on the other side of this.”

During the live, Levi also spoke about the upcoming “Fury of the Gods,” calling it “even better than the first one first one was really fucking good.” However, he also admitted he’s not sure if he will be asked to come back following the release of the film, but stressed that he wouldn’t take it personally or badly if the installment is his last time in the franchise.

“Listen, I have no idea what ultimately is going to happen to me,” Levi said. “I think I’m in a pretty good position, I think we made a great movie, I think it’s going to do well — reasonably well, I hope so. But again, regardless of that, if they decide at some point that this is the way we gotta go — them’s the breaks, that’s how it goes.”

Watch Levi’s full video below.

A post shared by Zachary Levi (@zacharylevi)

Source: Read Full Article