It turns out that Shazam! star Zachary Levi is a big, big fan of Deadpool. Even though he is now working under the DC banner, he doesn’t have any problems admitting he loves Marvel’s anti-heroic superhero. In a recent Q&A (that Comicbook.com brought to our attention) with the fans during FAN EXPO Boston, Levi revealed that a long time ago he really wanted to play the Merc with a Mouth.
“I wanted to be Deadpool for so long,” Levi said. “When I was reading Deadpool I wanted to be Deadpool, but Ryan is crushing that. They’ve done so well with creating that.
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Levi went on drawing comparisons between Deadpool and Shazam!, who are both the “satellites of a greater universe” in the actor’s mind.
“I actually kind of think that Deadpool and Shazam! are similar movies in that we’re both satellites of a greater universe that we get to kind of look at and point at and realize as an audience we can all do that together,” Levi added. “Deadpool got to take all those potshots at the Marvel universe, particularly the X-Men franchise, and it was so genius. And that we get to be on the outside, existing within the DC Universe but not necessarily having to subscribe to everything that’s already there.”
Given the actor’s naturally sympathetic and comedic persona, our guess is that he would have been a great Deadpool. On the other hand, he may have suffered a little bit from the “good boy” image built up over the years portraying characters like Chuck. Levi is right, though, in saying that Ryan Reynolds is nailing it in portraying the Merc with a Mouth on the big screen.
You can watch the full interview in the player below. Levi’s answer starts at roughly the 43-minute mark.
How do you think Zachary Levi would have fared as Deadpool? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below,
