John August to Pen 'Shazam!'

Here's how you know I'm a moron: When I first started reading this story, I immediately scratched my head and thought, "Wait, they're remaking that horrible Shaquille O'Neil movie?" Yes, I'm an idiot ... and this is a disability I live with each and every single day. That movie was Kazaam, but this one is Shazam! -- you'll notice the latter has an 'S', an extra 'A' and an exclamation point at the end to let you know it means business. New Line is adapting the DC Comics series for the big screen, and just attached John August to pen the script. Peter Segal will direct, as well as produce alongside Michael Ewing.

By this point, it's pretty obvious I'm not all too familiar with Shazam! The story (which sounds pretty damn cool) revolves around a teenager named Billy Batson who becomes the superhero Captain Marvel when he utters the magic word ... which, of course, is Shazam! The project has certainly made the rounds; at one point, William Goldman and Bryan Goluboff were brought on to pen drafts. However, Segal was interested in August's natural ability to tell big, ambitious stories set in fantastic worlds without sacrificing character. Says August, "What's terrific about the character is that he looks like this superstudly superhero but is really a 13-year-old boy. And to approach everything that is great about a superhero movie from a 13-year-old boy's perspective was a unique way in."

Known for helming a string of very successful comedies (including 50 First Dates, Anger Management, The Longest Yard and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps), it will be interesting to see how Segal approaches a superhero flick. There's no doubt August will turn in a larger-than-life script, and if Segal can stay the course and do what he does best, Shazam! should explode at the box office once it hits theaters. But here's the big question: Who do you get to play the kid and the adult? (And please don't say Ben Affleck.)