Shazam! star Zachary Levi fires back at Internet trolls attacking Captain Marvel

Surprising no one in the history of anything ever, there's an angry contingent of "fans" upset over a Marvel movie with a woman in the leading role coming out. Or, they’re upset that said star of that movie championed and pushed for more diversity in film journalism. 

Whatever the reason, these people are throwing a massive online hissy fit, taking to review aggregating site Rotten Tomatoes to make Captain Marvel’s “want to see” rating the lowest in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  

Conventional wisdom seems to show this onslaught of negativity was brought about from comments Captain Marvel star Brie Larson made in an interview with Marie Claire about wanting to have more diversity among the journalists who interview her.

Whatever the cause for the online trolling, one man (a hero, or quite possibly, a reasonable adult) is telling all these upset dudes: Knock it off! 

Shazam! star Zachary Levi posted a two-minute video saying these dumb shenanigans have got to stop and are helping nobody. (The video presumably came from a live stream, though it isn’t currently posted on Levi’s Instagram or Twitter accounts. Supernatural star Jared Padalecki gave Levi kudos, to which Levi replied on Twitter, taking credit for the video.) 

“For anyone out there who thinks you’re doing me a favor or Shazam! a favor, or you’re doing Warner Bros. [a favor], you’re not,” said Levi in the video. “This is not helping anyone or anything.”

Looking utterly bewildered that this is actually happening or that he actually has to state something so self-evident, Levi went on to add that although yes, Shazam used to be called Captain Marvel waaaaay back in the olden days before cinematic universes or Rotten Tomatoes or SYFY WIRE, “there is no competition” and “there is no conspiracy.”

“Anyone out there who’s holding onto some bone like they need to pick a side and pick a fight is sorely mistaken,” he said. “Don’t go and engage in that type of behavior anymore.”

Noting that going online to engage in these kind of low blows are, to him, “the bottom of the barrel,” Levi concluded: “To be lying in an attempt to discredit or defame somebody is really sad.”

Despite what the trolls are attempting, Captain Marvel continues to test well and is projected to start off at $100 million or more during its opening weekend. So, it appears as though these folks who are upset because something something no girls allowed may be unsuccessful in bringing this movie down with their disingenuous bad reviews. 

We’ll all see for ourselves when Captain Marvel hits theatres on March 8. And not too long after that, Shazam! opens on April 5.