Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has made no effort to hide his excitement about playing Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam film over the past year. However, not content to only battle the World’s Mightiest Mortal, now he’s calling out Superman over social media, perhaps hinting that the superhero and anti-hero may have a future together on the big screen.
Wearing a traditional Superman T-shirt, Johnson posted this tweet earlier, throwing some shade the Man of Steel’s way. He probably would have gotten a message across more efficiently if he wore a Black Adam T-shirt and ripped that Superman shirt in half, but DC might have frowned on that. A big no-prize to whoever can figure out what the hashtag #BlackAdamIGTKSDITD stands for in the comments below, though one Twitter user has guessed it means "Black Adam Is Gonna Kick Superman Down In The Dick."
Superman and Black Adam have tangled several times in the past, but a cinematic showdown between the two would certainly be intense. That said, if Superman were to show up in Shazam, one would imagine it would just be a minor role so as not to draw attention from Billy Batson and his alter-ego. Plus, if the Kryptonian is anything like his comic book counterpart, he’s particularly weak to magic, so he would be at a disadvantage fighting Black Adam.
This isn’t the first time that Johnson has hinted that Black Adam will fight heroes besides Shazam. Earlier this year, he promised that eventually the Kahndaqian powerhouse would battle Batman, Superman or other DC characters. So far there hasn’t been any official announcements of Black Adam interacting with anyone outside the Shazam family, but with the DCCU still young, that might change in the coming years. Despite knowing little about what to expect from Johnson’s Black Adam, it sounds like the actor is making him out to be akin to Loki and Thanos in the MCU, and by that I mean he will be a villain/adversary that will take on more than just one hero.
Even ignoring the Justice League films, this wouldn’t be the first time that a DC character is appearing in a film where they’re not one of the lead characters. In addition to Wonder Woman playing a key role alongside Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’s two eponymous heroes, the film will also feature minor appearances from Aquaman, Cyborg and possibly Flash. Then there’s Suicide Squad, which will see Batman dropping by and is also rumored to show an imprisoned Aquaman. So it wouldn’t come as a total surprise if Superman peeked his head in during Shazam, or even if Black Adam showed up in an earlier movie.
With no official information as of yet on earlier appearances, moviegoers can look forward to Dwayne Johnson debuting as Black Adam in Shazam, which will be released on April 5, 2019, while Superman will return next year for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
