Shazam’s Zachary Levi Glad Marvel Killed Off His Thor Character Fandral

Before he played the title role in DC’s Shazam!, actor Zachary Levi was Fandral in both Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World and (oh so briefly) Thor: Ragnarok.

Levi had replaced Josh Dallas, who played Fandral, one of the Warriors Three, in the first Thor movie. But from what Levi told the press on the set of Shazam! last year, Fandral getting (quickly) killed off in Thor: Ragnarok was a blessing. Indeed, Levi appeared thankful to no longer be tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“When I got cast as Fandral in [Thor: The Dark World], though I wasn’t able to do it, I knew that the Warriors Three could be really fun characters if they ever developed them,” Levi said. “They just didn’t. They didn’t.”

“If [Fandral] didn’t die, I might still be under contract with Marvel and I never would have been able to get this job. And I say f— that!” Levi added. “This is the coolest thing ever. I’m so happy.”

For more of what we learned from our visit to the set, read up on how Shazam is a foil to Man of Steel, discover which other DC supervillains appear in the movie besides Dr. Sivana, and discover how Shazam! fits into the DCEU.

And for more on Shazam!, check out the trailer, our explainer on its villain Dr. Sivana, new images from the movie, find out how expensive the costume was to make, and enjoy our explainer on the complicated history of Shazam.

Shazam! opens in the US and UK on April 5 and in Australia on April 4.

Nick Romano contributed to this report.