Between Fighting With My Family, Hobbs & Shaw and Jumanji: The Next Level, Dwayne Johnson is coming off of a huge 2019. The blockbuster actor has also long been tapped to be reaching higher into the world of comic book adaptations! The Rock has confirmed that he’s beginning the new year by starting to prep to shoot Black Adam. Check it out below:
It’s finally happening! How exciting! The Rock took to Instagram to announce he’s started training for the role of Black Adam ahead of the film going into production this summer. He teased that the “hierarchy of power” in the DC Universe is about to change, signaling a new era in the franchise's history.
He gave credit to the animators BossLogic and Veli Okulan, who are behind what he shared to his followers. It shows Black Adam levitating amidst rubble before yelling “Shazam” and zooming into the skies. It’s pretty awesome! The animation features Black Adam’s official release date of December 22, 2021, almost two years from now.
Black Adam will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who previously helmed Non-Stop, The Shallows and this summer’s Disney movie (also starring The Rock) Jungle Cruise. The production recently hired the cinematographer of the highly-successful Joker, Lawrence Sher. He talked about continuing to reshape what a comic book movie and doing something inventive with the content.
Black Adam is a famously a supervillain who is the nemesis of Shazam and his superpowered family. In recent years, Black Adams has been redefined in the comics as an antihero who is attempting to be redeemed. Having spent some time with the Justice Society of America (JSA) in the comics, Dwayne Johnson has also teased the legendary superhero team will appear in the movie.
It should be noted that the release date for Shazam 2 was recently tapped for April 1, 2022 – just a little over three months after Black Adam’s release. It’s expected that someday the two characters will clash on the big screen, but it’s not yet known if Dwayne Johnson’s character will be set up as a character in Shazam 2 in his 2021 solo introduction.
Dwayne Johnson’s update is really exciting because it looks like Black Adam is finally on schedule and getting ready to begin production over the summer. The movie has been in development since the early 2000s, with Johnson attached to star for some time.
Before Black Adam, The Rock can still be seen reprising his role as Smolder Bravestone in Jumanji: The Next Level with Kevin Hart. The big movie star is also appearing in a movie adaptation of the famed Disneyland ride Jungle Cruise alongside Emily Blunt on July 24, 2020.
