Shazam!!

[Kal-el]

According to the NYDailyNews, Jake Gyllenhaal may be in talks to star as Captain Marvel in a big screen adaptation of Shazam!.

The NYDailyNews writes

Jake Gyllenhaal may soon collect an awfully big paycheck as America's latest superhero. We hear New Line execs are keen to have the "Brokeback Mountain" hunk play Captain Marvel in "Shazam!" Based on the DC comic, the movie is New Line's bid for a franchise on the order of "Batman" and "Superman." "They're ready to spend up to $200 million to get it started," an insider tells us. Sources say director Peter Segal and his fellow producers want to nab Gyllenhaal before "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi does - with "Spider-Man 3" due to open on May 4, star Tobey Maguire has said he may let someone else play the web slinger

[Lestat]

According to the NYDailyNews, Jake Gyllenhaal may be in talks to star as Captain Marvel in a big screen adaptation of Shazam!.

The NYDailyNews writes

This does not make me happy. I am a fan of Shazam! and he is a bigger, broader guy than Jake Gyllenhaal is. I think Ben Affleck would be perfect for this part.
Let me not speak too soon though, because I am a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal so maybe he'll surprise me.

[wirm]

This is one of those instances where the hero (actor) really should look more impressive. I'll admit that Gyllenhaal (spelling?) was pretty bulked up in the movie Jarhead, but his face makes him look more like Peter Parker.

Anyway, I think they should change the name of the movie. Don't want anybody thinking it's the Shaquille O'Neal movie about a genie.

[Kal-el]

MTV chatted with Shazam! director Peter Segal about the Jake Gyllenhaal rumor and the adaptation:

"As soon as we signed John August to write it, the next day we saw on the Internet that Jake Gyllenhaal would be a great Captain Marvel and we were already in negotiations with him," laughed director Peter Segal ("50 First Dates") last week. "I said, 'Well, he'd be great, but we've literally just signed the writer!' " Nevertheless, Segal said all is full steam ahead for his big-budget take on one of comicdom's oldest heroes (originally created in 1939), the catchphrase-spewing Captain Marvel. "It's like a combination of 'Big' and 'Superman,' " the comedy director said of the tone he's aiming to capture. "It's a 13-year-old boy who, when he says the word 'Shazam!,' he gets the powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Mercury and Achilles. So basically, he can fly, he has superpowers, but when he morphs into a 28-year-old superhero, on the inside he's still 13. So, you get that quality of what Tom Hanks brought to 'Big,' but you also have a kick-*** superhero." The film is being produced by New Line Cinema, and Segal promised it won't be anything like the laughably bad 1970s live-action show (seriously, Google it). "No, we're not going for the cheesy," Segal promised. "I looked at that myself, and I thought, 'The guy with the boots and the red suit — could we have some fun with this?' but we're going to be really loyal to the origin of the comic book, then definitely liven it up."