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With Justice League opening soon, and filming wrapping up on Aquaman, the next DCEU movie to start filming is Shazam! Pre-production is underway, and casting announcements are expected soon, but the number two question after "Who will play Billy Batson and his adult counterpart" is "Who will be the Shazam villains be?" The original plan, of course, was for the villain to be Captain Marvel-now-Shazam's predecessor and classic primary nemesis, Black Adam, played by Dwayne Johnson. But now Black Adam is planned to have his own movie. It's entirely possible that Shazam and Black Adam will rumble in a future sequel, but in the meantime, they'll need other Shazam villains for Billy Batson's debut movie. Director David F. Sandberg may have picked one, and we may even hear who's playing them by month's end, but in the meantime, we have some suggestions. (Spoilers: none of them are Mr. Banjo.) Next: Brute force 1. Ibac Shazam's powers are derived from the men whose initials shape his name: shouting "Shazam!" grants Billy the wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, endurance of Atlas, power of Zeus, invulnerability of Achilles, and speed of Mercury. Same goes for Ibac, but the sources of his power are far less benign. When he shouts "Ibac," he gains the terror of Ivan the Terrible, the cunning of Cesare Borgia, the fierceness of Atilla the Hun, and the cruelty of Caligula. And also he's super-strong. Ibac would make a good introductory villain for Shazam, because he fits the same mould that Marvel Studios has been using for nine years: he's like the hero, but an evil version. As Iron Man fought exclusively evil arms dealers, Captain America started by fighting an evil super soldier, and Thor fights evil Asgardians, it would make sense for Shazam's first opponent to have a similar shtick. And while Black Adam fits that to a T, he's a much more complex character. Often more anti-hero than villain, he even did a stint in the Justice Society back in the early 2000s. Ibac, on the other hand, is simple. A pure-evil thug, free of moral complexity, for Billy Batson to cut his heroic teeth on. Next: Brains over brawn 2. Dr. Sivana Black Adam might be first among Shazam villains, but Dr. Thaddeus Boddog Sivana Sr. is a close second. DC Comics loves their mad scientists... enough that at one point they formed their own sovereign nation... and Dr. Sivana just might be the archetype. Dr. Sivana is the villain who gave Shazam (back when he was Captain Marvel) the nickname "Big Red Cheese." Dr. Sivana provides a brains vs brawn challenge for Shazam, similar to Superman vs. Lex Luthor. Perhaps similar enough that it aided then-National-now-DC Comics' lawsuit against Fawcett Comics claiming Captain Marvel and Superman were too similar. That historical note aside, Sivana would provide a challenge beyond brute strength, that would force Billy to rely on the wisdom of Solomon rather than the strength of Hercules, which sounds like a good third act of a character arc to us. Next: Hope you like bugs 3. Mister Mind Mister Mind might not look like much. He's just a caterpillar from Venus, after all. But don't be fooled. He's also a genius, incredibly devious... and has mind control powers. He can control nearly anyone. He's a mind worm, and he's very dangerous. Mr. Mind is a unique challenge. Tiny, hard to find, and harder still to convince anyone is real. Perhaps it would take the mind of a child to accept that everything that's happening is because of a tiny green worm from outer space. And you might wonder... if he's a caterpillar, does he go into a cocoon? And if so, what does he eventually turn into? Well... that is complicated, to say the least. Time travellers Rip Hunter and Booster Gold found out once, and it was not pretty. Next: Depressingly relevant 4. Captain Nazi Captain Marvel/Shazam got his start in 1940, and as an all-American superhero of course he fought some Nazis over the years. Enough that they simply named one of his adversaries "Captain Nazi." His original incarnation was created by the Third Reich specifically to counter Captain Marvel. In the 1990s Power of Shazam comic, he was a Nazi super soldier who'd been in suspended animation for decades, which is likely the route they'd take for a film version. When he returned in Power of Shazam, which tried to involve as many classic Shazam villains and other Fawcett Comics characters as they could, having a supervillain named "Captain Nazi" seemed, if anything, oddly antiquated. Today... depressingly relevant. If anything, possibly too political. But who better than superheroes, especially improbably noble or good superheroes like Captain America or Shazam, to remind us that the Nazis must be fought? Next: Evil itself 5. The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man AKA the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Greed, Anger, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust. In classic Shazam comics, these seven sins were embodied by seven demons which the wizard Shazam (who gives Billy his powers) keeps imprisoned in the Rock of Eternity. Naturally, every now and then, they get out. And being the heir to Shazam, it will often fall to Billy (provided he's available) to round them up. Hard to think of a bigger opponent for the young hero than embodiment of evil itself. Certainly not Mr. Banjo, who we again insist was a real villain, but we're not counting on seeing him brought to life on the big screen. Nor Captain Marvel's brief opponent from the 40s, Spiderman. Yes, the pantheon of Shazam villains includes a character named Spiderman, who hasn't been seen since the 1960s for what we feel are obvious reasons. Images: DC Comics