SHAZAM! Actress Rachel Zegler was almost cast as Supergirl in THE FLASH

West Side History actress Rachel Zegler will make his big superhero film debut in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. She will take on the role of Anthea, one of the three daughters of Atlas, alongside him Lucy Liu’s Kalypso e Elena Mirrenit is Espera.

It turns out that prior to boarding that film, she originally auditioned for Supergirl on The Flash, a role that ultimately went to Sasha Calle. During an interview with /Film, Zegler opened up about her experience and how auditioning for Supergirl led to her role on The Flash:

“I read for Rich [Delia], who was our casting director, and originally came to me with Supergirl for Flash, and I wasn’t a good fit. He was like, ‘You know what, I have a character in mind for you for Shazam!. They’re looking at X, Y, Z. We’d love it if you’d come in and read.’”

Zegler ended up reading for the role and talked about what that audition process was like for her and how she was offered the role thanks to Shazam! franchise star Jack Dylan Grazer. She said:

“So I read on Zoom. Obviously, the age of Zoom is the isolation, the age of the pandemic. Then I went back and read for David Sandberg, and then for the last time I read chemistry with Jack Dylan Grazer. The story goes that Jack chose me. That Peter Safran, our producer, turned to him and said, ‘Which one did you like better, Jack?’ and he said, “Well, she’s Maria in West Side Story, so we have to have her.” Because Jack is a big fan of West Side Story. Jack loves West Side Story. So I have to thank him, really.

So in the end, everything worked out for Zegler and he landed a role in the DC Cinematic Universe. Sure, Supergirl would have been a much cooler character to play, but Calle was definitely the better choice for it.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods “will continue the story of teenager Billy Batson, who recites the magic word ‘SHAZAM!’ is struck by the Living Lightning of the gods and transformed into his adult superhero alter ego, Shazam. He has the powers of six gods: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the endurance of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury.

Billy Batson and his adopted brothers, who can all transform into superheroes, leap into action and fight against the Daughters of Atlas to save the world from a weapon that could destroy it. As you will see, this is not an easy feat and Billy starts to doubt himself and if he can really do it.

David F. Sandberg returned as director and the film’s characters and cast include Billy Baston (Angel Asher AND Zechariah Levi), Frederick (Jack Dylan Grazer AND Adam Brody), Eugene (Ian Chen AND Ross Butler), Peter (Jovan Armand AND DJ Corona), Darla (Faith Herman AND Megan Well), and Mary (Grace Fulton AND Michael Borth). Elena Mirren is taking on the role of Hespera e Lucy Liu he is playing Kalypso.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will hit theaters on March 17, 2023.