'Shazam!' Will Start Production In Canada Spring Next Year

“Shazam!,” One of the DC Extended Universe’s highly-anticipated films, will begin production in Canada next year. The film will be helmed by “Lights Out” and “Annabelle: Creation’s” David F. Sandberg and will feature the titular hero’s first big screen debut.
Despite the popular notion that all big-budget movies are made in Hollywood, taxes and production expenses make it a financially complicated matter. That’s why shooting in places that don’t necessarily affect the overall budget cost have proven to be a good alternative—namely southern locations such as New Orleans and Atlanta. Canadian cities like Vancouver and Toronto are also good locations north of the border.
That being said, DCEU’s take on “Shazam!” is beginning to rev up its engines as it prepares to head over to Canada for production.

Shazam in DC’s Kingdom Come (1996). Photo via DC Comics

‘Shazam!’ starts production in Canada during next year’s Spring season

Canadian international filming site What’s Filming posted “Shazam!” as the latest entry into its database. According to the listing, the movie will be shooting in the province of Ontario, the most populated area of Canada. Production will commence February 5th and end May 4th.
However, it’s worth noting that the movie is listed under the alias “Franklin.” This is Warner Bros.’ way of diverting the paparazzi and the general public from the premises of the movie. A common practice among other Hollywood movies, designating an alias for the main film helps the production crew worry less about leaks and spoilers. However, with the internet age making things accessible to anyone and everyone, it’s unclear how this alias for “Shazam!” will help the film shroud itself from spoiler-hungry fans. Unless the majority of scenes takes place on sound stages, set photos from the film are bound to leak online soon enough.
The current roster of actors to join the movie is still unknown, including who will play Billy Batson/Shazam. WHat we do know is that  Dwayne Johnson won’t be appearing as Black Adam yet as this is seen as the first “Shazam!” film. It’s not confirmed if a sequel will be done but a possible cameo or tease of sorts might be in for Johnson.
“Shazam!” is slated for an April 5, 2019 release.