Geoff Johns: 'Captain Marvel is now called Shazam'

Geoff Johns has revealed that Captain Marvel will now be called 'Shazam' in DC Comics' titles.

The character has been called 'Shazam!' in the title of series featuring him in recent years, due to Marvel Comics holding the copyright for its identically-named superhero.

The magically-powered superhero will star in the Curse of Shazam! back-up feature written by Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, which debuts in Justice League #7 in March.

"There are a lot of reasons for the change," Johns told Newsarama.

"One is that everybody thinks he's called Shazam already, outside of comics. It's also, for all sorts of reasons, calling him Shazam just made sense for us.

"And, you know, every comic book he's in right now has Shazam on the cover. So I think just by embracing that and calling him Shazam.

"And you'll see it actually make sense in story, why he's called Shazam rather than Captain Marvel. That's just what he's going to be called for us from now on."

Johns also revealed that a Shazam! movie remains a possibility.

He is also collaborating with Frank on Batman: Earth One, which will be released later this year.