By July 2017, the studio had begun active development on Shazam! and Sandberg was confirmed as director, with production to begin in early 2018.[42] Dwayne Johnson relayed that a different creative team was now involved than when he first signed on to the film.[43] After being cast as the lead, Zachary Levi stated in an interview, "the idea is that it's gonna feel like the movie Big, but with super powers," when was asked about the direction DC Films and New Line Cinema are going for with Shazam![44] Warner Bros. stated that the film would be based on the 2012–2013 Shazam! backup feature from the Justice League comic book, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank,[45] which told a modernized version of Shazam's origin.[46]