Shazam! If mild mannered Billy Batson says the name of the magician that gave him powers, he transforms into Captain Marvel, a superhero with powers similar to Superman (minus the heat vision and ice breath, but probably also faster than a speeding bullet). At several times during the project’s history it’s been suggested Pete Segal (Get Smart) was directing and a script was being written.

Now, that screenwriter, John August (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) has taken to his blog to explain why.

In retrospect, I can point to two summer Warner Bros. movies that I believe defined the real issue at hand: Speed Racer and The Dark Knight. The first flopped; the second triumphed. Given only those two examples, one can understand why a studio might wish for their movies to be more like the latter. But to do so ignores the success of Iron Man, which spent most of its running time as a comedic origin story, and the even more pertinent example of WB’s own Harry Potter series. I tried to make this case, to no avail.

I was under contract to deliver one more draft. So I took them at their (written) word and delivered what they said they wanted: a much harder movie, with a lot more Black Adam. This wasn’t “Big, with super powers” anymore. It was Black Adam versus Captain Marvel, with a considerable push into dark territory and liminal badlands like Nanda Parbat. It wasn’t the action-comedy I’d signed on to write, but it was a movie I could envision getting made. The producer and director liked it, and turned it in to the studio while I was in France.

By the time I got back, the project was dead.

The article is very detailed and describes the cycle certain projects get stuck in for seemingly no reason whatsoever, and if you have a few extra minutes, I suggest you give it a read by clicking here.