Warner Bros. isn't wasting any time with Shazam 2. The first movie proved to be a solid hit for the studio last year and stands as one of the most critically-embraced DCEU movies to date. As such, Zachary Levi will be back in the red suit and cape sooner rather than later, as it looks like cameras are getting ready to roll on the superhero sequel this summer. Aside from Levi, Asher Angel will also return as the young Billy Batson, who transforms into the hero.

According to a new report, Shazam 2 is set to begin filming in July. David F. Sandberg, who helmed the previous movie, is expected to return to the director's chair. It was revealed in April of 2019, just as Shazam was hitting theaters, that writer Henry Gayden would be returning to pen the sequel. So the gears have been turning on this project behind the scenes for several months. At present, no story details have been revealed, but this lines up with what Asher Angel said in a previous interview with ET Live in January.

"I think we start filming really soon, so I'm super excited... I haven't read the script yet."

There is a rather interesting wrinkle to this. As it just so happens, another long-awaited DC project is set to begin filming around the same time in the form of Black Adam, which stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the villain, or, as they're billing him, an anti-hero. Originally, Black Adam was supposed to appear in Shazam as the villain, as he's one of the hero's main antagonists in the comics. Plans changed, and Johnson got a solo movie instead, but the plan is for the two forced to eventually meet on screen. It just won't be in Shazam 2. Or, at the very least, not as a main plot point.

Black Adam is set to hit theaters in December 2021, so it's possible Shazam 2 could be teed up in some sort of post-credit scene in The Rock's DC flick. In any event, it seems Warner Bros. likes the way things are progressing with this one. Another sequel, The Suicide Squad, which has been in development since late 2016, took quite a bit longer to get going, as the studio struggled to find the right filmmaker and vision for the movie, ultimately going with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

Shazam was a solid hit for the studio, bringing in $365 million at the global box office. However, critics and audiences both responded very positively, generally speaking, so it's possible this could be a situation where the sequel out-grosses its predecessor by quite a bit. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. Shazam 2 is set to hit theaters on April 1, 2022. This news comes to us via Geeks Worldwide.