Shazam! Director Reveals Key Details About Movie's Mysterious Villain

In the first trailer for DC’s Shazam!, we get a really good look at Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his heroic alter-ego, Shazam (Zachary Levi). It’s a great introduction to the franchise and provides just enough information without revealing too much.

But one thing about the trailer that was a mystery was who the antagonist was. Thanks to Shazam! director David Sandberg, we now know who the titular hero will battle.

According to Sandberg, the character is known as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), a frequent foe of Shazam’s with a jealous streak.

Turns out, Sivana also encountered The Wizard who bestows Batson with super powers, but Sivana was deemed unfit to wield such power. Batson, meanwhile, is chosen because of his pure heart, as shown in the Shazam! trailer.

“Mark Strong loves being a bad guy,” Sandberg told Entertainment Weekly. “And it’s not just him, really, it’s… something else… that lent him his powers… he can do some things that Shazam can’t. The danger in some films is the bad guy has the same powers as the good guy. (Sivana) has an extra thing, extra dynamic, that takes care of that…”

Those are some pretty cryptic comments from Sandberg. Given Sivana has a genius-level intellect and is an inventor, he likely develops something—performance enhancements?—that makes him powerful enough to challenge Shazam.

You can get a better look at the Shazam! trailer above. Shazam! is set to hit theaters on April 5, 2019.