Dwayne Johnson’s Passion Project, Black Adam Is Set to “Rock” The World Of DC’s Extended Universe.
Did You Know That Black Adam is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Biggest Long-Time Passion Project?
For over a decade, Dwayne Johnson has been set on playing the DC antihero, Black Adam, and has been working on bringing the film to life. Over the years, he has felt compelled to play the role, and claims that there is no character that he connects to more. His long-time passion and excitement for the character is sure to translate to a terrific end result, hyping up audiences for the film’s upcoming release on October 20.
Dwayne Johnson, along with his collaborators, believe that Black Adam’s character will be a “disruptor” in the world of superheroes and also in the broader film industry, due to his unique attitude and powerset.
Director, Jaume Collet-Serra and producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn refer to Black Adam as the “Dirty Harry” of superheroes.
Who is Black Adam?
In the earliest comics, back in 1945, Black Adam was known as a villain for Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam.
Black Adam is a flying and levitating anti-hero, and a corrupted ancient Egyptian predecessor of Captain Marvel (Shazam), who fought his way to modern times to oppose Shazam and “clear his name.”
Warner Bros. synopsis for the film is as follows:
“Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.”
Last month, we got our first solid look at the film, with the first official trailer having been released.
Since then, Warner Bros. have come out with a Comic-Con sneak peek.
The Rock arrived with an epic, dramatic entrance to San Diego’s Comic-Con, dropping down from the ceiling to a thunderous applause, dressed in costume as his much loved character, Black Adam.
The “anti-hero”: Is Black Adam a villain, a superhero, or a mix of both?
The film seems to tease and and play with the idea of whether Black Adam is, by nature, really a hero, villain, or anti-hero in the DC Extended Universe. Could it be that the coming together of both the darkness and lightness of Black Adam’s nature and the battle to choose which side takes reign is what has made the character so relatable and appealing to The Rock? Often the image painted of a hero’s character seems too unrealistically perfect and “good” to feel attainable. Is Dwayne Johnson’s character going to be between a rock and a hard place as he fights his mind battle between his inner hero and inner villain?
Find out in cinemas on October 20.