Black Adam is almost here, dropping in cinemas in October, and the film has been a long time coming. Dwayne Johnson was cast in the role way before the DCEU even began. Initially, the plan was to introduce Dwayne’s Black Adam as a villain in the Shazam film but later it was decided that the character would be getting a solo film. The character is being reimagined in the role of an Anti-hero as opposed to an outright villain in the movie.
The director of the upcoming film, Jaume Collet-Serra, spoke at this year’s comic con regarding how this role will be very different from the roles that Dwayne has played in the past. Dwayne has primarily played the good guy and the protagonist in most of his films but this is the first time that Dwayne will be playing a character that is the source of the conflict in the film. The director explained the entire situation in the following words:
“I think in this movie, like Adam is undoubtedly the main source of conflict in the movie. And I think that that was a very interesting take, because normally, a character that Dwayne would play in a movie would be the solution to the problem. Right? Like there’s an earthquake. So here comes Dwayne to the rescue, right? Which is great. That’s the normal movie, even in Jungle Cruise. Here’s the thing, Dwayne is a hero. In this one, he was the problem for everybody else. And I think that that shift is what made these movies instantly different and reenergized. You could do things that you might have seen in other movies, but in a completely different way, because it’s not your lead guy doing them.”
This movie is definitely a new direction for Johnson’s career and one that will change many of his years to come as the movie will probably prompt many sequels and appearances from Johnson as Black Adam in other DCEU properties.