Zachary Levi criticized by DC fans after Sean Gunn comments

Kayla Harrington
Zachary Levi in Shazam

Shazam star Zachary Levi has been criticized by DC fans after he commented on Sean Gunn’s family connection with the DC Studios chief.

The entirety of the DCEU has been undergoing a pretty hefty overhaul after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the roles as co-CEOs.

Under the duo, DC is resetting its universe, with upcoming films such as Superman: Legacy seeing completely new actors take on iconic roles.

One actor of the old DCEU, Zachary Levi, may not know his place in this new universe, but he recently came under fire from DC fans after commenting on Sean Gunn’s close connection to the franchise.

Zachary Levi criticized for comment on Sean Gunn’s DC connection

During an interview with ComicBook.com, Levi remarked that Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods — the follow-up to 2019’s Shazam — didn’t do as well at the box office as the studio hoped, but he was still onboard to play more iterations of the character.

However, while he might not know where the character of Shazam stands in the DCEU, CBM asked him if he would be up for playing other characters in the universe, given Jason Momoa is rumored to not be playing Aquaman anymore and Sean Gunn has been cast as Maxwell Lord, even though he played Weasel and Calendar Man in 2021’s The Suicide Squad.

Levi was quick to make a joke of Sean Gunn essentially having his pick of DC roles to step into, stating, “Listen, when you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play who you want.”

While the quip was clearly made in jest, some DC fans were quick to criticize Levi as they assumed his comment came from the fact that the fate of his Shazam trilogy is up in the air.

However, it seems like there’s no bad blood between Levi and the DC CEO as he went to explain how he has a personal relationship with the pair.

“Listen, I’ve known Peter now for years because he’s my producer on Shazam! and I’ve known James Gunn for even more years,” Levi said, “We have mutual friends and we’ve had game nights together in LA. I’ve been at a Christmas party of his and almost was Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.”

And even if Shazam never gets a third installment, Levi gushed over how much he loved bringing the character to life.

“I’m really proud of both films. I really think the second film was, in some respects, better than the first,” Levi recalled, “And the first was really good. I’m really proud of both of them.”

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About The Author

Kayla is a TV and Movies Writer at Dexerto. She's huge fan of Marvel (especially if Wanda Maximoff is involved), shows that make you laugh then cry, and any cooking show found on the Food Network. Before Dexerto, she wrote for Mashable, BuzzFeed, and The Mary Sue. You can contact her at kayla.harrington@dexerto.com