'Shazam!' director says DC film will avoid 'Captain Marvel' name

Director David Sandberg has said the upcoming superhero film "Shazam!" will not have references to Captain Marvel name.

Sandberg's film is based on the DC superhero Shazam, which was initially in the comics called Captain Marvel. However, the DC comics officially changed his name to Shazam after Marvel trademarked the title for its own superhero back in the 60s.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sandberg said the film, featuring Zachary Levi as the title hero, will avoid using the DC hero's former name but the movie will "have a bit of fun" with the character's history.

"Let's just say we're going to have a bit of fun with that in the movie. But he's basically known as Shazam, which makes sense because of the confusion," Sandberg said.

Marvel's film based on its Captain Marvel character will be released next year in March. The film will stars Brie Larson as the title character.