'Shazam!' casting rumors: Fans might not see Cena

Fans of both the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star John Cena and DC's "Shazam!" might want to curb the hype as a Hollywood reporter supposedly debunked the rumor about the casting choices for the upcoming "Shazam!" movie.

Earlier, a website called That Hashtag Show reported that, as per their "sources," the casting choices for the lead role in "Shazam!" has two tentative frontrunners: John Cena and Joshua Sasse. Umberto Gonzales from The Wrap, however, weighed in on the matter as he took to Twitter after the initial reports of The Hashtag Show and tweeted to them that the "Shazam!" story is not true and that the frontrunners, particularly Joshua Sasse, is nonexistent. 

This led to several Hollywood news sites picking up Gonzalez' stance on the matter with a grain of salt. We Got This Covered (WGTC), for instance, voiced out their opinion of The Hashtag Show's rumors about the castings for "Shazam!" saying that the fandom website might have reported ahead of the proper time. WGTC even mocked the choice of casting John Cena, saying Cena would have been a more appropriate fit for "Billy Batson," the little child who serves as the alter ego for "Shazam!"

Gonzalez' tweet, however, was not an official statement. For all intents and purposes, his tweet about Sasse being "unseen" could have meant that he has not seen any of Sasse's performances in the industry.

As it is, "Shazam!" is still in its pre-production stage, so the actual filming might not take place until early next year. The movie is about the DC entertainment superhero Shazam, also known as Captain Marvel. Shazam's alter ego is a child named Billy Batson who transforms into the said superhero by shouting "Shazam!" — an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, the mythological icons whose powers "Shazam!" possesses.

The filming is scheduled for February 2018, while the movie itself is slated for release on April 5, 2019.