DC Comics’ Captain Marvel will return to the screen at last if all goes well at Warner Bros. Daily Variety reports that the studio has inked Get Smart director Peter Segal to helm the project as part of a three-year, first-look deal. Segal and Michael Ewing, his partner in Callahan Filmworks, spent two years developing a Captain Marvel movie at New Line Cinema before it became part of the Warner Bros. slate. They’ll be working from a script by Corpse Bride and Titan A.E. scribe John August.
In the comics, a young boy named Billy Batson shouts the magic word “Shazam!” and gets an instant puberty boost, becoming Captain Marvel, an adult superhero with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.
The comic-book favorite was serialized on screen in 1941 with The Adventures of Captain Marvel and was resurrected for television with the 1974 series, Shazam! This latest attempt to breathe new life into the franchise has been a long time in the making. A number of scribes have been attached to the project over the years, including Oscar-winner William Goldman (All the President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and Bryan Goluboff (The Basketball Diaries).
Segal is also helming a Get Smart sequel Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures. The third pic in the deal is a comedy titled Liam McBain: International Tennis Star and Proper English Geezer, which chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional ’80s tennis star.
