Zachary Levi defends James Gunn and Peter Safran: they need “time to do something special”

New DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran have only been on the job since October, but their new direction for the franchise has already sparked controversy in the fandom, between the announcement that Henry Cevill will not return as Superman and Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam Bench. But another current franchise star, Zachary Levi of "Shazam!" movies, came to the defense of the new CEOs on an Instagram Live Thursday night, telling fans not to believe "guesswork" and "rumor mills".

"You have no idea the reasoning behind the decisions that are being made," Levi said during his Instagram Live. “The amount of guesswork and rumors, drama and nonsense that keeps swirling around on Instagram and Twitter is laughable. It's incredibly laughable."

Levi, who is set to return as Shazam! in the March 2023 sequel "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," encouraged fans to be patient and trust Gunn and Safran's vision, saying they're trying to build a universe in a way that Other DC creatives like Zack Snyder have failed to do so, and that the two CEOs aren't "just making decisions because they like or dislike somebody."

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"I would say just be patient and give them space and time to try and really do something special. And I think something DC deserves to have, and something Snyder tried to do that ultimately didn't materialize," Levi said. "They make decisions based on what's best for Warner Bros., DC, this whole studio and this entity and try to give back as much fans, as many audience, happy as possible."

"If you're out there and you really like what happened before, you can do that, that's fine. But realize there's a lot of people who didn't like those things, and we should always try to tap into as much of an audience as possible, to make as many people happy as possible," Levi continued. "That's what we're in entertainment for, and that's what I think Peter and James are trying to do. And it's not an easy position, they were entrusted with all these things that were already in a lot of conflict. So guys, just give them a fucking break. Take it easy. Breathe. It's the holidays, for God's sake. Just go enjoy what the holidays are like, give them some time to enjoy the holidays, and let's see what happens on the other side."

During the live, Levi also talked about the upcoming "Fury of the Gods", calling it "even better than the first one, the first one was really good". However, he also admitted that he's not sure he'll be asked to return after the film's release, but stressed that he wouldn't take it personally or badly if the installment was his last time in the franchise. .

"Look, I have no idea what's going to happen to me in the end," Levi said. “I think I'm in a pretty good position, I think we've made a great movie, I think it's going to do well – well enough, I hope. But again, no matter what, if they decide at some point that's the way to go - they're the breaks, that's how it goes."

Watch Levi's full video below.

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A post shared by Zachary Levi (@zacharylevi)

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