Peter Safran Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The search for the new Superman actor is not as far along as some social media rumors suggest. “Beyond the Trailer” host Grace Randolph recently took to Twitter to announce Gunn is “very close” to landing an actor to play the eponymous superhero in his upcoming “Superman: Legacy.” Randolph went as far as to claim the role “might even be cast” already or is in “final talks.” Not so fast. Gunn shot down the report and provided an update on his Superman casting process. “Not true,” Gunn replied. “Haven’t had a single talk with a single actor about the role. Just making private lists, prepping material for auditions.” Randolph took Gunn’s rebuttal as an opportunity to reveal her scoop that it was “Percy Jackson” and “Hunters” star Logan Lerman who is Gunny’s top choice for Superman. Gunn also shot down that claim.

EXCLUSIVE: Doctor Sleep filmmaker Mike Flanagan has pitched a feature version of DC supervillain Clayface over at the studio several sources tell Deadline, however, no word on greenlight yet — and the studio has not said ‘No’. There are no offers and no deals.

Zachary Levi isn’t having such a great couple of weeks, is he? Obviously, he was hoping “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” would be a massive hit and that would force James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-CEOs of DC Studios, to somehow work the character into their new slate of projects. Alas, that’s far from the truth.

James Gunn is now running things at DC alongside Peter Safran but he has one final film at Marvel with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Word is out that the runtime for the third installment will be the longest of the trilogy clocking in at about two and a half hours.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Almost a week after “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” opened in theaters and bombed at the box office, Zachary Levi took to Instagram to weigh in on a whole lot of drama surrounding the DC comic book tentpole. In a video, the actor confirmed that plans for the “Fury of the Gods” post-credits scene — in which Shazam is recruited to join the Justice Society — were “thwarted,” although he did not say by who. A report from The Wrap published after “Fury of the God’s” opening weekend claimed that Dwayne Johnson sabotaged the “Shazam” post-credits scene by blocking “Black Adam” characters Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) from appearing in it. Johnson headlined “Black Adam” and aimed to start a new thread of the DC Universe built around his character facing off against Henry Cavill’s Superman. “Black Adam” also underperformed at the box office, and both Johnson and Cavill are not included in the new DC Universe being spearheaded by DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran.

A superhero storm is brewing. Zachary Levi seemingly revealed that fellow DC Universe star Dwayne Johnson changed Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ post-credits scene.

Zachary Levi is commenting on the report that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson blocked his character Black Adam from appearing in an end credits scene for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

The director of the latest superhero flop is getting candid.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Zachary Levi is the latest member of the “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” family to weigh in on the film bombing at the box office. The DC tentpole earned just $30 million in its domestic box office debut, well below the $53 million the original “Shazam!” opened with in 2019 and a huge financial loss considering “Fury of the Gods” cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 million to market. Levi heads the franchise as the eponymous superhero. While Levi is not blaming Zack Snyder fans for “Fury of the Gods'” box office miss, he did acknowledge on Twitter after the film’s opening that many Snyder fans wanted the sequel to fail as a kind of revenge against Warner Bros. for dropping Snyder’s DC Universe. James Gunn and Peter Safran are now in charge of the DC Universe and are rebooting it with films such as “Superman: Legacy,” which will not feature Snyder’s Superman actor Henry Cavill.

James Gunn has confirmed that he will work with Margot Robbie again, perhaps signalling her return as Harley Quinn.When asked on Twitter if he would work with the actress again, Gunn kept his reply short and sweet: “For sure”. Gunn has yet to elaborate on his answer, leaving the door open for the possibility of Robbie portraying Quinn again in the director’s vision for the DC Cinematic Universe.For sure.— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 18, 2023Margot Robbie last played Harley Quinn in Gunn’s 2021 soft reboot of The Suicide Squad, Prior to that, she made her debut as the character in 2016’s Suicide Square – directed by David Ayer – and again in 2020’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).Earlier this month, Gunn confirmed that he will be directing an upcoming Superman film titled Superman: Legacy at DC Studios.

The marketing push for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” has been an odd one, no doubt. The questions about the film’s future amid the soft reboot from new DC Studios co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran, dominated the discourse.

Ever since it was revealed that James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-CEOs of DC Studios, would be doing a bit of a soft reboot on the DCU (keeping only a handful of actors while recasting nearly all of the major roles), there has been a barrage of questions from fans about who is staying and who is leaving. Henry Cavill? Gone.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Rachel Zegler took to social media over the weekend to lament what she called “senselessly mean” reactions to the film. The DC sequel had a lackluster opening at the global box office, landing with $65.5M worldwide and currently carries a 52% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

The gods are looking furious indeed.

J. Kim Murphy “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is thundering to a No. 1 opening at the box office, though the DC Comics adaptation is expected to fly in lower than its predecessor. “Fury of the Gods” grossed $11.7 million in opening day ticket sales, a figure that includes $3.4 million in Thursday previews. That’s almost half of the $20.3 million that the 2019 original earned in its first day of release, on its way to a $53 million bow. “Fury of the Gods” carries a production budget of $125 million, which is $25 million higher than its predecessor’s. Opening in 4,071 theaters, the superhero sequel will likely struggle to reach a $30 million debut. With DC Studios under the newly minted leadership of Peter Safran and James Gunn, “Shazam! 2” represents somewhat of a relic of a bygone regime for the comic book banner. While a film like “The Flash” was also conceived before Safran and Gunn’s tenure, the pair of CEOs have often declared their conviction in the quality of the upcoming Ezra Miller film. Chatter around the “Shazam!” sequel has been much quieter.

When New Line/DC’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods hit tracking four weeks ago with a low $35M projection, it was shocking and not shocking to rival distributors. Shocking, because in a spring full of franchise tentpoles, many of which are seeing record opening domestic highs, how can a DC property like Shazam! not keep up with the pack? Not shocking in that — well, it’s a goofy, old Shazam!

After that Superman fake-out in the first movie, director David F. Sandberg knew that if he was going to pull off another DC cameo in the sequel, it would have to be for real this time.And he pulled it off! Just as all hope seemed lost in the final act, Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), appeared to save Shazam (Zachary Levi) and leave her favorite fanboy swooning.«We wanted to poke fun at the first movie where we had to obscure Superman’s face,» Sandberg told ET's Ash Crossan ahead of the film's release. «On this one, I actually didn't believe it was going to happen, because she was in the script from day one but… Gal couldn't be there [for some of the filming] so we had to do it with a stand in.

New Line’s DC sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods got off the ground at 3 p.m. Thursday and posted $3.4M in previews at 3,400 theaters.

$53.5 million opening weekend, beating projections of a $45 million launch. Heading into this weekend, “Shazam 2” projections have stayed at $35 to 38 million.While there is still a possibility that this $100 million superhero film could still pass the break-even point from such an opening weekend, the film would have to gather considerable word-of-mouth in the coming weeks to do so, particularly among families looking for a day at the movies as schools have spring break on a rolling basis through late March and early April.That word-of-mouth won’t get help from critics, who after praising the first “Shazam!” are very mixed on “Fury of the Gods” with a 55% Rotten Tomatoes score at time of writing.“Shazam!: Fury of the Gods” is one of four DC films that were greenlit by the superhero label’s previous leadership, with the others being “The Flash” in June, “Blue Beetle” in August, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” on Christmas Day.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods arrives during a turbulent new age for DC Studios.After James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-CEOs at DC Studios last year, a number of planned projects have been shelved or cancelled entirely – including Henry Cavill’s return as Superman, Wonder Woman 3, and a sequel to Black Adam.As such, Zachary Levi’s Shazam is another which could potentially be cut from DC’s future following sequel Shazam! Fury Of The Gods – while others like Ezra Miller’s The Flash and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman have also yet to be addressed.The future of Shazam has yet to be decided, although a sequel isn’t out of the realms of possibility.Speaking to Deadline, Levi has expressed his interest in returning to the role: “Trust me, wherever they say, we want you to be Shazam in this thing, I’d be like, ‘Great, let’s go. I’ll do that.’”He added: “I do know that Peter [Safran], who I’ve known for years, and James [Gunn] who I’ve even known longer, are really excellent leaders.

As James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s new take on the DCEU moves forward, fans can’t help but wonder who will star and help helm the future films of “Gods and Monsters.”  Ben Affleck makes it clear in a new THR interview that he won’t return to direct any new movies for DC Studios.

Now that James Gunn and Peter Safran have a new path forward for the DCEU, many questions abound. Who besides Gunn will direct some of the newly announced projects? Who will star as the new DCEU’s most iconic heroes like Superman and Batman? And will any former stars of the DCEU brand return to get involved with the latest films and series? READ MORE: James Gunn To Direct ‘Superman: Legacy’ For DC Studios In some cases, like Jason Momoa, it’s safe to say the actor will return in some capacity for the new DCEU.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer James Gunn is set to direct “Superman: Legacy.” The irreverent filmmaker, who serves as chairman and CEO of DC Studios with partner Peter Safran, revealed on Wednesday that he will helm a previously-announced reboot of the Superman franchise. Gunn also wrote the screenplay, and Safran will produce. “Superman: Legacy” also released its first plot synopsis, saying the film “tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”

James Gunn is taking on Superman!

Well, it’s official. After teasing that he was writing the upcoming Man of Steel reboot, “Superman: Legacy” and possibly directing it, Warner Bros.

In what should come as no surprise, James Gunn will be directing his own script for Superman: Legacy, a major lynchpin project which will off the the multi-platform connected DC universe – “Chapter One, Gods and Monsters” ­– which he and his DC’ Co-Chairmen & CEO Peter Safran are launching.

When Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav installed the new leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC, heavy decisions were promptly made from the unplugging of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 to Henry Cavill losing his Superman cape.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods finally lands in a rainy windswept Los Angeles tonight for its premiere at the Regency Village. But the franchise’s filmmaker David F. Sandberg won’t be in attendance after testing positive for Covid.

pic.twitter.com/etaj9xveUoHe added in a follow-up tweet: “Seriously though I’m so grateful to have gotten to work with such an amazing cast and crew and I’m glad I got to at least join some of them for the European screenings. Have the best of times tonight!”More to Asher Angel returns as Billy, with Zachary Levi once again playing the kid-at-heart superhero alter ego Shazam, bestowed with the powers of six gods: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.

Even though “Black Adam” wasn’t the biggest bomb of 2022, it might be the most embarrassing, in hindsight. Not only was it a superhero film that did poorly with critics and underperformed at the box office, but it also was quickly dismissed by the new co-CEOs of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran, effectively erasing the best part about the film—the reintroduction of Henry Cavill as Superman.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has opened up about Henry Cavill’s removal from the DC Extended Universe following James Gunn’s appointment as DC’s co-CEO late last year.Speaking to Variety‘s senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin at the Oscars, Johnson said when asked about Cavill’s removal from the cinematic franchise: “All that I could do, and all that we could do when we were making Black Adam, was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could.”He explained further: “It’s almost like when you have a pro football team and your quarterback wins championships and your head coach wins championships and then a new owner comes in and says, ‘Not my coach, not my quarterback. I’m going to go with somebody new.’”Watch the clip here.Following the release of the Johnson-starring Black Adam in October, Cavill confirmed via social media that he would be returning to the DCEU as Superman after secretly filming a post-credit scene with Johnson.Cavill’s comments would be shot down two months later when it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran had been appointed at co-CEOs for DC films.

Dwayne Johnson opened up about the future of the DC film universe after Henry Cavill was removed from the picture as Superman.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Dwayne Johnson took a moment on the Oscars red carpet to reflect on the DC Universe overhaul that put a pin his plans for a Black Adam-Superman crossover movie. Variety‘s senior culture and events editor Marc Malkin caught up with Johnson and asked about Cavill’s Superman being dropped from the DC Universe despite his highly-touted comeback in Johnson’s “Black Adam.” “All that I can do, and all that we could do when we were making ‘Black Adam,’ was to put our best foot forward and surround ourselves with the best people and deliver the best movie we could,” Johnson said. “Our audience score was in the 90s. Critics took a couple shots, but that’s just the business of it.”

DC Studios dropped the first trailer for “The Flash” during this year’s Super Bowl to much anticipation.

Zachary Levi assures DC fans the studio is in good hands.

The Batman 2 is due to start filming within the year.The Matt Reeves-directed follow-up to 2021’s revamp of the Batman franchise is due to be one of the first films to make up the new DC Elseworlds franchise. And, given the success of the first film, it seems that DC Studios is keen to get production rolling on its follow-up.And now, one of the film’s production team has given an update as to when Robert Pattinson will be suiting up to bring back his haunted version of Bruce Wayne.