Warner Bros.’ brand-new film Black Adam will be making its theatrical arrival in October, starring Dwayne Johnson as the titular character. Johnson’s introduction to the role initially had the anti-hero facing off against Billy Batson in the 2019 film Shazam!, but Johnson urged Warner Bros. to develop a standalone film to introduce the anti-hero separately.
Warner Bros.’ Black Adam focuses on the emblematic character nearly 5,000 years after his release from imprisonment. The reborn enslaved person gifted with the power of the Egyptian gods blazes a path to unleash his distinctive form of justice on the modern world while combating the critical choice of being the world’s destruction or its savior. Per Johnson’s requests, Black Adam will be introduced separately from Shazam! despite the character’s embattled connection in the comic books.
While speaking with Vanity Fair, Johnson dove into his major reasons for campaigning for Black Adam to receive a standalone film treatment. “When the first draft of the movie came to us, it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam: Two origin stories in one movie,” disclosed Johnson. “Now that was the goal — so it wasn’t a complete surprise. But when I read that, I just knew in my gut, ‘We can’t make this movie like this. We would be doing Black Adam an incredible disservice.'”
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The complication prompted Johnson to make a pitch for the character’s standalone film with Warner Bros. However, he stated this was a highly unpopular decision when he initially expressed his opinion. “I said, ‘I have to share my thoughts here. It’s very unpopular…’ because everybody thought, ‘Hey, this script is great, let’s go make this movie.’ I said, ‘I really think that you should make Shazam!, make that movie on its own in the tone that you want. And I think we should separate this as well.'”
Warner Bros. ultimately decided to move forward in two different directions with the iconic characters, but a slight reference to Black Adam still appeared in Zachary Levi’s Shazam! when the wizard – played by Djimon Hounsou – who gifted Billy Batson with his powers revealed that he once carelessly gifted abilities to the “wrong person.” While absent, Black Adam’s presence is slightly felt in the light-hearted universe, but it’ll be interesting what happens when the two foes eventually meet.
Alongside Johnson, Black Adam will also star Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher. Many of these characters are new to larger audiences and will look to fill a void where new heroes seem nonexistent. Early excitement for Black Adam is intense after the release of tantalizing trailers to promote the film, but it’ll be intriguing to see if audiences find the anti-hero to be someone worth revisiting.
Black Adam will soar into theaters on October 21, 2022.
Source: Vanity Fair
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