The DC movie Black Adam has quite recently finished its production phase, just a bit before its intended release in 2022. The most important thing about it is that Dwayne Johnson will be playing the titular character, marking his first debut in a superhero flick. But of course, we do know other things about it besides that. Here’s everything the public is currently aware of in regards to Black Adam.
Considering how huge of a movie star Dwayne Johnson is, it’s admittedly quite a shock that it took this long to see him star in a superhero movie, a genre that has been immensely popular for the last decade and some change. We suppose he’s been pretty busy with other films, such as Jungle Cruise, but come on: is he not someone you would expect to fit perfectly into a superhero movie?
Well, apparently he was working on such a film, as he is now the main character in such a film. Oddly enough, it’s not a super well-known comic book character, but rather the antihero Black Adam, Shazam’s nemesis. Somewhat unknown that he may be, Johnson was apparently quite adamant in playing the character. He was approached in 2007 to play the hero Shazam, but affirmed that he was far more interested in playing as the villain Black Adam.
Despite the many years of development that Shazam went through, it as confirmed in 2014 that Johson would still be playing Black Adam. But of course, by that time, Dwayne Johnson was a far bigger name in cinema than he had been, so a middling role as a secondary villain in a heroic movie just wasn’t going to cut it. That’s why Black Adam became a standalone movie concept in 2017. Officially, the movie was announced in 2019, with an intended 2021 release date. Naturally, some delays came into the mix with the COVID pandemic, but they still started filming in April.
Release Date
As of right now, Black Adam is scheduled to release on July 29, 2022. However, the fifth Indiana Jones movie (wild, right?) is also scheduled to release in theaters on that day. So, it’s entirely possible that one of these films will move in order to make room for the other.
The Cast
What’s a movie without good actors? Everyone knows that DC has been… less than illustrious on the big screen that past few years, so we’re all glad to see someone well-known for charisma and likability take the lead. But who is going to be starring alongside Dwayne Johnson? The cast is as follows.
- Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam
- Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone
- Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz
- Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher
- Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate
- Aldis Hodge as Hawkman
Naturally, these are not all the characters in the movie, but these are the only characters we have received confirmed actors for. There are some other supporting characters whose actors have yet to be revealed to us.
What’s The Plot?
Some people may be worried about Dwayne Johnson’s ability to play an antihero. After all, Johnson usually plays charismatic, lovable rogue types, not corrupted, violent antiheroes. Director Jaume Collet-Serra even confirmed that the role would be quite a bit darker than Johnson usually plays. That’s good though because no one wants to see a character bastardized in an attempt to be something they aren’t.
The specifics of the movie are unknown, but there are some details (mostly the kind you could find in comics anyway) that we do know. Teth-Adam, son of an Egyptian pharaoh, has the same powers as his nemesis, Shazam. Except, unlike Shazam, Teth-Adam is kind of a violent jerk when he’s running around as Black Adam. Shocker.
What is interesting is the fact that DC’s classic Justice Society of America will be in the movie. Or at least, some members will be, such as the aforementioned Atom Smasher, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, etc. Other than that, all we know is that the antagonistic force will be Intergang, according to an interview with Sarah Shahi:
“I play a character named Adrianna, and she’s a freedom fighter that’s leading this big resistance against an evil, malicious group called Intergang.”
Who is Intergang? Probably some sort of terrorist group with lofty yet terrible goals. Apparently, they have some scary toys given to them by the New Gods, if the movie follows the comics on that note.
The Director and The Writers
Unfortunately, a good actor and a good narrative can still fall flat depending on who the director is. But that shouldn’t be a problem this time around. Director Jaume Collet-Serra has actually worked with Dwayne Johnson before, on the Disney film Jungle Cruise, which came out very recently. So, if you liked that film, this is good news!
He’s also worked on a lot of action thrillers with Liam Neeson, so that gives him some credit in our eyes as well. As for the writers, that would be Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani. You can look to The Mauritanian, Rampage (also a Johnson flick), and Scoob! For their works.
Well, that’s pretty much all there is to know about it. There’s been no official release of footage or images yet, so this is all there is. Still, we have to say that, in a pretty rare occurrence, we’re actually excited for a DC movie this time.
