Even before Zachary Levi was cast as the title character of Shazam!, Dwayne Johnson had joined the DC film universe as Shazam nemesis Black Adam. For a long time we assumed the two would face each other in the Shazam! movie but that's not the case. However, the Black Adam movie is still very much on track, and as we begin to look forward to that, artist BossLogic gives us a taste of what we might be in for once The Rock transforms into Black Adam. Check it out.
Created as a teaser movie poster for the forthcoming Black Adam movie, we see Dwayne Johnson's character sitting on a throne, with a defeated Superman crumpled to one side. We don't really get a great look at Black Adam's face, but it's still a fantastically menacing image.
Black Adam doesn't make an appearance in Shazam! but the story does make a reference that fans of the character will recognize. The tagline included on the BossLogic poster references the fact that in DC Comics continuity, Black Adam was a previous recipient of the power of the wizard Shazam.
However, it seems that we'll find out what's happening with Black Adam fairly soon. Dwayne Johnson recently revealed that filming on the Black Adam movie is expected to start sometime next year. If that's the case, we could see the movie as early as 2021.
Depending on which version of the character we're getting when Black Adam finally makes his debut on the big screen, we could be seeing a straight up supervillain or we could get more of an anti-hero. If Black Adam is getting his own solo movie, than the latter scenario is probably more likely.
The next question becomes, will the Black Adam movie feature the return of Shazam! in any capacity, or will that meeting be left for a third film? It might make for a pretty solid trilogy, with each character getting their own full solo film before the big battle that one expects we will get between them.
Based on the opening weekend of Shazam!, seeing the character return seems quite likely. The film did a slightly better than expected $53 million, which, combined with paid previews from a couple weeks ago along with international business, puts the movie at nearly $160 million after its first weekend. Considering that Shazam! only had an estimated production budget of $100 million, the movie is well on its way to being a major success, even if it isn't quite looking like it's going to be doing Aquaman business.
If Black Adam looks half as awesome on the big screen as he does in this poster, we could in for a pretty amazing movie. The fact that the part is being played by Dwayne Johnson only increases those odds.
