AceShowbiz -

"Shazam" director David F. Sandberg recently announced that pre-production on the upcoming DC Comics film adaptation was underway. And now a new report has emerged revealing the potential actors who will compete to take on the lead role.

According to That Hashtag Show, John Cena and Joshua Sasse are the contenders to land the role of Shazam a.k.a. Billy Batson. The news outlet says the 40-year-old WWE superstar and the 29-year-old British actor are "tentatively" the frontrunners for the role of the Captain Thunder.

Additionally, the outlet hints that the movie's possible synopsis is sticking close to the comic's mythology for the titular superhero. It reads, "Based on the DC Comics character 'Shazam!' Billy Batson becomes Captain Marvel, the world's mightiest mortal, when he says the magic word 'Shazam!' The name is an acronym for six gods and heroes of the ancient world as well as their attributes. The wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles and speed of Mercury."

Cena has a slew of high profile roles coming up, one of which is in upcoming "Transformers" spin-off "Bumblebee", which is set for a December 21, 2018 release in U.S. theaters and stars Hailee Steinfeld. He recently starred alongside Aaron Johnson in Doug Liman's war thriller "The Wall" and can soon be seen in "Daddy's Home 2" opposite Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The Sean Anders-directed comedy flick is due out November 10.

Sasse, meanwhile, is best known for ABC's "Galavant" and has also appeared on The CW's "No Tomorrow". Hs film credits include 2010's British gangster film "The Big I Am" and 2012's Deutch-American-Czech horror film "Frankenstein's Army".

"Shazam" is expected to arrive on April 5, 2019. Sandberg, whose directing credits include last year's "Lights Out" and the recently-released New Line sequel "Annabelle: Creation", will direct the film from a script provided by Henry Gayden.