Black Adam is headed to the DCEU… and he’s bringing some friends.
Black Adam has officially wrapped filming, which means we won’t have too long to wait until its release in cinemas around the world.
Former wrestler turned movie star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson clearly has high hopes for his first major superhero role, repeatedly stating in Instagram captions that “the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is changing”.
That seems to suggest Black Adam could be the strongest hero the franchise has seen to date, especially as there’s still a question mark over whether Henry Cavill’s Superman will ever return.
After filming wrapped midway through July 2021, Johnson wrote: “I knew many years ago, the opportunity for me to make BLACK ADAM would be a ONCE IN A CAREER EVENT. It has been my true honour to go shoulder to shoulder with over 1,000 brilliant and hungry filmmakers and storytellers to bring the antihero known as BLACK ADAM to life.
“This has been one for the ages and easily the hardest labor and toughest grind mentally and physically of my entire career. Worth. Every. Second. Love you all. Thank you all.”
Of course, Johnson’s eponymous antihero isn’t the only power player jumping into live action with Black Adam – there is also much interest in Pierce Brosnan’s casting as mystical character Doctor Fate.
In an interview for People, the former James Bond actor revealed that his costume in the film would be at least partly computer generated, which is standard practice for most superhero movies these days.
“I do have to put the motion-capture suit on, which is an acting challenge in itself. But luckily, I was brought up in the theatre, so I know how to get into tights and act the goat,” he said.
With an entire Justice Society expected to be formed, the DC Extended Universe will get a whole lot bigger with this blockbuster – here’s everything we know about Black Adam, including a confirmed release date.
Black Adam release date
Black Adam was originally scheduled for release on 22nd December 2021 but this date was, unsurprisingly, pushed back due to complications caused by the pandemic.
The film is now set to arrive in cinemas on 29th July 2022. Dwayne Johnson revealed the release date via an Instagram post in March 2021.
Filming began in April 2021, with Johnson marking the occasion by sharing the movie’s rather snazzy clapperboard on social media, with the shoot wrapping up midway though July.
Black Adam cast
Dwayne Johnson is set to take on the lead role, after the WWE star had been circling the characters of Black Adam and Shazam for many years, ultimately settling on the former due to his unpredictably rebellious nature.
Noah Centineo has also been confirmed as Atom Smasher, a DC Comics superhero capable of manipulating his size and strength, growing up to 60 feet tall at will.
Variety confirmed Aldis Hodge (The Invisible Man) will star as Hawkman in the upcoming blockbuster, a character who recently appeared in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow where he was accompanied by close ally Hawkgirl.
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He is often depicted as a human archeologist, Carter Hall – or alien counterpart, Katar Hol – donning large (artificial) wings which allow him to soar through the air with great force.
Quintessa Swindell (Trinkets) has been cast in the movie as well, taking on the role of wind manipulating superhero Cyclone, with Aladdin and The Old Guard star Marwan Kenzari also signing up in an as-yet-unspecified role.
In March 2021, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that magical hero Doctor Fate will be played by Pierce Brosnan, with the former James Bond taking on the first superhero role of his career.
Doctor Fate first appeared in DC comics in 1940 as the son of an archaeologist who was bestowed sorcery skills by the magical Helmet of Fate, and was a founding member of the Justice Society.
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Sex/Life star Sarah Shahi will also appear in Black Adam, with Deadline reporting that she will play “a university professor and freedom fighter leading the resistance in Kahndaq”, who goes by the name Adrianna.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shahi revealed that she didn’t know what movie she was auditioning for when she initially sent in her tape, as well as opening up on why her casting means so much to her.
“I’m Middle Eastern; I’m Persian. And there’s not a lot of Middle Eastern representation out there,” she said. “There are other Middle Eastern actors that I know who are either getting cast in terrorist roles or they’re really being stereotyped by how they look. So I’m hoping that, on some level, Black Adam will help break open that stereotype.”
The movie also made some mystery cast additions at the start of filming, with stage star James Cusati-Moyer and Legends of Tomorrow‘s Bodhi Sabongui joining the production in undisclosed roles (via Deadline and THR).
Meanwhile, Uli Latukefu who is known for playing none other than Dwayne Johnson himself in the sitcom Young Rock has also joined the cast in an unspecified role.
There has been much speculation over which existing DC heroes could appear in Black Adam, with Shazam and Superman among the most heavily rumoured.
Who is Black Adam? Comic book origin explained
Black Adam is the long-awaited solo movie for one of DC’s most popular antiheroes.
His origin, as told in Jerry Ordway’s 1994 story The Power of Shazam!, reveals Black Adam was born thousands of years ago in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Kahndaq.
Born “Teth-Adam”, son of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II, he was rewarded with incredible powers bestowed on him by the high priest and wizard, Shazam.
However, when Black Adam is corrupted by the demon Blaze, who brings out a power-hungry side to his personality, Shazam punishes him by stripping him of his powers and sealing them in a scarab.
The character was later resurrected in the present day, initially to serve as a fearsome arch-enemy to Billy Batson (played by Zachary Levi in 2019’s Shazam!), but gradually taking on more antihero qualities as he develops.
Expect the Black Adam movie to explore this origin story, but that’s not all; in a major addition to the DC Extended Universe, the upcoming blockbuster will also introduce the Justice Society of America.
The superhero team actually predates the Justice League, but aren’t quite as well known due to their location in a parallel universe known simply as Earth-2.
Speaking to Collider, producer Hiram Garcia said: “We are so excited to introduce the Justice Society, especially Hawkman who’s such a beloved character and one of those heroes who’s always meant so much to the DC universe.
“When you take a powerhouse like Black Adam and inject him into this DC cinematic universe you want to make sure you are putting characters around him that can really up the stakes.
“As DJ likes to say, the hierarchy of power in the DC universe really is going to change, so Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone will have their hands full no matter how we choose to have them interact with Black Adam.”
Is Black Adam a sequel to Shazam?
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Not exactly. Given their comic book history, it stands to reason that the Black Adam and Shazam movie franchises will be relatively closely connected, but Johnson’s offering is not a direct sequel to the 2019 movie.
That said, rumour has it that the two DC powerhouses could finally come face-to-face in 2023’s Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods, with director David F Sandberg fuelling speculation with a recent photo from the set.
It shows a lightning bolt against a black background that looks suspiciously similar to Black Adam’s trademark logo, although it’s worth noting that Shazam! wears a very similar emblem.
Previously, Zachary Levi had said at CCXP Cologne Convention 2019: “I can say that as far as I know, Black Adam is not going to be in the second Shazam!, because the idea is that they want to go and do a standalone Black Adam movie first.”
“And then it would kind of be, if we do a third Shazam! and a second Black Adam… that’s where we would [meet]. Because he’s like the ultimate bad guy for Captain Marvel / Shazam.”
However, that was a long time ago and it’s quite possible that plans for the two characters to interact have been moved forward.
Is there a Black Adam trailer?
Not just yet. As filming began in April 2021, we could perhaps expect a teaser trailer by the end of the year. What we do have though is a photo of the script courtesy of Dwayne Johnson’s Instagram account – so that’s something at least!
Expect more behind the scenes goodness now shooting has started – Johnson is known for being generous about his projects on social media, and has already shared the impressive shape he got into for the role.
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