Shazamstar Zachary Levi has lined up his next major role. The rising actor is set to take the lead in a new action/comedy titledSpy Guysfor New Line Cinema. This comes from producers Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, who make up the comedy trio The Lonely Island. Jeff Tomsic (Tag) is set to direct and, if all goes well, this project is going to be coming down the pipeline sooner rather than later.
According to a new report, New Line is currently in negotiations withZachary Levito take on the lead role inSpy Guys. He will be playing a superspy, in the vein of Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt from theMission: Impossiblemovies. The hope is that they can get this movie in production quickly before Levi is needed back in the DC Universe forShazam 2, which is currently being worked on, given the success that the first movie enjoyed earlier this year. The script was penned by Adam Sztykiel, who previously scripted movies such asRampageandDue Date.
While a full synopsis hasn’t been released,Spy Guyswill center on Zachary Levi’s character, who is a star superspy. He finds himself in a bad situation on anextremely difficult missionand must turn to his moronic college friends for help to sort it all out, as they happen to be with him at the time. This sounds very much like it will be picking up where movies likeSpy HardandAustin Powersleft off. As of this writing, there is no word on who may be eyed to join Levi in the movie. However, if things continue down the fast track, casting would likely begin to fill out the ensemble in a hurry.
This is a move that seems to make sense for all parties involved. Zachary Levi has been kicking around Hollywood for a long time, having starred in the seriesChuckand in theThormovies over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. ButShazam boosted his profile in a major way, as the movie was embraced by critics and moviegoers alike. As the very likable lead in a big-budget superhero movie, Levi gained a lot of good will. Warner Bros. and New Line are hoping to capitalize on that.
Jeff Tomsicmade his directorial debut withTag, which was moderately successful at the box office. He had previously worked on Comedy Central shows such asBroad CityandIdiotsitter. It’s not yet clear how soon the studio hopes to begin production onShazam 2. If they can’t get this movie together in time, and assuming they’re committed to doing it with Zachary Levi in the lead, then it may have to wait until he’s done with his next round of superhero business. John Rickard is also on board to produce for the studio. This news was first reported byDeadline.
