Shazam! star Mark Strong, who plays Billy Batson's nemesis Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, almost portrayed another popular comic book villain: Sebastian Shaw in 2011's X-Men: First Class.
While the role ultimately went to Kevin Bacon, Strong was director Matthew Vaughn's first choice. “Matthew Vaughn did ask me to do X-Men: First Class. There was a bad guy in X-Men that Kevin Bacon played. Because I speak German it just seemed so logical having worked with him that I would play that part," Strong told ComingSoon.
As to why he didn't take the role, Strong added, "I think I had just done Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes and it had been just too many bad guys very recently. So that one we didn’t go down the path of that.” Notably, Strong also played Sinestro, the villain of 2011's Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds.
Strong has worked with Vaughn on several movies, including 2007's Stardust, 2010's Kick Ass, 2014's Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel.
Shazam stars Zachary Levi and features a supporting class including Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer,Djimon Hounsou, and Adam Brody. Shazam will premiere in the USA on April 5, 2019.