Shazam! – 5 Characters With The Most (& 5 With The Least) Screentime

Shazam! was released in 2019 as the seventh film in the DC Extended Universe. It was the live-action film debut of the character Shazam, who had first appeared as Captain Marvel in Fawcett Comics in 1939. DC licensed the character in 1972, making him a part of their universe. Because of the creation of Marvel Comics’ own Captain Marvel in 1967, DC renamed the character Shazam.

David F. Sandberg directed the superhero movie, with Zachary Levi in the title role. The film also stars Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Honsou, Faith Herman, and Mark Strong. Being that the Shazam family is a large one, many characters appear in the story. Some for just a handful of minutes, others for most of the movie. This article doesn’t require a character to be on screen for their screentime to count, as long as they’re intercut in the scene, and the brief CGI cameo of Black Adam and the faceless cameo of Superman aren’t included.

10 Mister Mind – 1:03

Director David D. Sandberg cameod as the voice of Mister Mind, an alien worm who also happens to be telepathic. Mister Mind first appears at the beginning of the film, seen in a jar at the Rock of Eternity. When the jar is seen later, it is cracked open and empty.

Mister Mind eventually appears in an end-credits sequence, where he visits Dr. Sivana in prison. Their suggested team-up might play out in a sequel, as the worm is one of Shazam’s biggest enemies in the comics.

9 Marilyn Batson – 3:49

Caroline Palmer plays Marilyn Batson, Billy’s real mom. She has two brief appearances in the film. One is near the beginning when Billy remembers the day he got lost at the fair. The other is when Billy finds his mom at last, and she flashes back to what actually happened the day he was “lost.”

While the meeting doesn’t go the way Billy wants, it isn’t the end of his search for family. After losing his family at the fair as a small child, he finds his new one at the fair towards the end when he shares his power with his foster siblings.

8 Sid Sivana – 4:51

Sid Sivana is the mean older brother of Thaddeus Sivana. Landon Doak portrays Sid as a teenager at the beginning of the film, when he picks on Thaddeus and takes his Magic 8 Ball. Immediately after this, Sivana is transported to the Rock of Eternity and meets the Wizard. Wayne Ward portrays the adult Sid, who doesn’t spend much time on screen before Dr. Sivana throws him out a window.

The relationship between the brothers clearly didn’t change after 45 years, that much is apparent in Sid’s less than five minutes of screentime. If anything, the car accident that injured their father likely made it worse.

7 Victor and Rosa Vasquez – 8:04 and 8:18

Victor and Rosa Vasquez share an entry here, as most of their screentime happens together. Rosa has two brief scenes without Victor, and Victor has one brief scene without Rosa, resulting in a very small difference in their screentime. The couple is played by Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans.

At first, the Vasquez family has a hard time with Billy, who just wants to find his real mom. By the end, of course, Billy has accepted the family as much as they accepted him. While Victor and Rosa are on screen for less than ten minutes each, their presence is felt throughout the film because of their care for Billy and his foster siblings.

6 Mr. Sivana – 8:07

Mr. Sivana is Thaddeus Sivana’s father, and he appears twice in the film. Even when he’s a child, it’s clear Thaddeus doesn’t have a good relationship with his father. His father is also quite a bully to Thaddeus.

Mr. Sivana is played by DC veteran John Glover, who appears in his fourth DC property with this film. Glover first portrayed Edward Nygma / The Riddler in Batman: The Animated Series and other shows in its shared universe. He then played Jason Woodrue, the man responsible for Pamela Isley turning into Poison Ivy in the film Batman & Robin. Finally, Glover was in Smallville as Lionel Luthor, father of Lex. He had a starring role from season two to seven, along with recurring appearances in season one and a guest role in season ten.

5 Mary Bromfield – 31:10

Mary is the oldest foster sibling of Billy’s, played by Grace Fulton as a child while Michelle Borth plays Mary as a grown-up superhero. Mary just edges out Eugene and Pedro in screentime, as the siblings mostly appear together at home and in the finale.

Mary was created in 1942. She was originally known as Mary Marvel, but after the change from Captain Marvel to Shazam, she became more commonly known as Lady Shazam. Collectively, the group has become known as “The Shazam Family.”

4 Darla Dudley – 32:43

Darla is the most cheerful and caring of the Shazam Family. She accepts Billy as a brother quicker than the rest, even making a sign for him before he gets there. Little moments like these give her more screentime than every other foster sibling except Freddy.

Faithe Herman portrays Darla as a child, while the superhero version is played by Meagan Good. The character has many memorable moments, such as when she saves Santa at the fair. Even in superhero form, Darla always seems to have fun.

3 Dr. Thaddeus Sivana – 49:12

The big bad of the film is Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, played by Mark Strong. Strong previously played Sinestro in 2011’s Green Lantern, which preceded the DCEU. In a great moment of setup for the villain, the opening scene actually centers on Dr. Sivana as a child, played by Ethan Pugiotto.

With many scenes establishing his motives and plans, Dr. Sivana appears in quite a bit of the film. A lengthy bit of screentime also comes from his two fights with Shazam, and an end-credits scene suggests viewers haven’t seen the last of Dr. Sivana.

2 Freddy Freeman – 54:52

Jack Dylan Grazer plays Billy’s foster brother Freddy. Due to his fandom and knowledge of superheroes, Billy trusts Freddy with his secret after turning into Shazam. Freddy ends up coaching Billy in the use of his powers, as well as documenting Shazam’s exploits and uploading them online. This leads to Freddy having the second-most amount of screentime in the film.

Throughout the film, Freddy shows his support for the superheroes that exist in their world in many ways. He’s seen wearing shirts for Batman, Superman, and Aquaman. He has a replica Batarang, which comes in handy later in the film. He also has an authenticated bullet that bounced off of Superman, which Billy later drops in a drain. Billy does make it up to Freddy later though, having Superman show up to see Freddy at the school cafeteria.

1 Billy Batson / Shazam – 1:29:34

No surprise here, but Billy Batson and his alter ego Shazam dominate the screentime of the movie. Zachary Levi shines as the superhero Shazam, and Asher Angel is a stand-out star as young Billy Batson. Between the two characters who are really one character, viewers see Billy on screen for three-quarters of the film.

Angel and Levi flawlessly transition their performances back and forth, providing a very believable take on the character. After appearing in two Thor films as Fandral, Levi finally got a chance to really play the hero in Shazam! He and the rest of the Shazam Family will return in the sequel, Shazam!: Fury of the Gods in 2023.

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