Last November, it was revealed that Black Adam, which will finally see the debut of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s iteration of the eponymous character, will also include the Justice Society of America, DC Comics’ oldest superhero team. Now word’s come in that one of Netflix’s rising talents is joining the Shazam! spinoff as a JSA member, with Noah Centineo being cast as Atom Smasher.
This casting update comes from THR, although the outlet didn’t provide any details about how Atom Smasher will fit into the story. While Atom Smasher has previously been rumored to appear in Black Adam, now we have a face we can attach to the DC Extended Universe version of the character.
Following his time on the then-ABC Family series The Fosters and appearances in Disney Channel projects like Austin & Ally and How to Build a Better Boy, Noah Centineo was catapulted to a higher level of fame for starring opposite Lana Condor as Peter Kavinsky in Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Centineo reprised the role earlier this year in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and will be back as Peter for the upcoming To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
In addition to Noah Centineo showing up in movies Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and Charlie’s Angels, Black Adam also marks his second superhero-related movie coming up, as he’s been cast as He-Man for the Masters of the Universe reboot. Given that Black Adam has a release date and Masters of the Universe is currently undated, one would imagine Centineo will play Atom Smasher before He-Man, although filming on Black Adam might also end up being delayed due to the global health crisis.
Debuting in 1983, Albert Rothstein is the godson of Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom, and has the power to increase his size, strength and durability. Originally Albert’s superhero moniker was Nuklon, but he’s been going by Atom Smasher since 1999 and has been one of the more prominent JSA members over the last few two decades. Outside of the comics, Atom Smasher appeared a handful of times in Justice League Unlimited and was played by Adam Copeland in the Season 2 premiere of The Flash, although that latter series depicted the character in a more villainous light.
Atom Smasher and Black Adam have a complicated relationship in the comics, from initially clashing with one another to Albert Rothstein briefly becoming one of Teth-Adam’s closest allies, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of dynamic they have in the Black Adam movie. At the very least, it’s easy to imagine these coming to blows in one fight, if not several.
As for the other Justice Society members who will be joining Atom Smasher in Black Adam, officially speaking, we don’t know who they are yet. Unofficially speaking, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Stargirl and Doctor Fate have all been previously rumored to show up, so we might be getting casting information on them soon. A JSA movie is also supposedly in development, with Black Adam serving as a testing ground to see if audiences want more of these superheroes.
Along with Dwayne Johnson and Noah Centineo in front of the camera, Black Adam’s talent includes Jungle Cruise’s Jaume Collet-Serra as director and Adam Sztykiel having written the script. No specific plot details have been revealed yet, though it’s possible that movie will delve into Black Adam’s origins in ancient Egypt/Kahndaq, which was briefly teased in Shazam!. Should most, if not all of Black Adam be set millennia in the past, it’ll be interesting to see how these JSA members are thrown into that time period.
Black Adam is dated for December 22, 2021, and filming is expected to be begin either next month or in September, although as mentioned earlier, that could change. Keep track of other DC movies on the way with our comprehensive guide.
