We’ve been waiting a long time to see Dwayne Johnson bring Black Adam to life on the big screen, with the DC Comics antihero being given his own movie approximately three and a half years ago, and the WWE superstar having been attached to the role for much longer. While there’s still a ways to until Black Adam hits theaters, today finally brings us our first official look at Johnson as the eponymous character.
Granted, we’d seen some artwork created by DC Comics’ Jim Lee and graphic artist BossLogic of Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam when the movie’s release date was announced late last year, but this new concept art coming straight out of the DC FanDome online event (as Johnson teased) gives us our first taste of how the character will actually be depicted on the big screen. Take a look!
As you can see, the DC Extended Universe’s Black Adam costume does not veer away from what the character wears on the printed page, and rightly so. Just like red and yellow are Shazam’s color scheme, Black Adam has rocked the black and yellow color scheme for decades. Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam also boasts a cape, which the character rarely wore pre-New 52, but has frequently been a part of his wardrobe since the DC Comics relaunch, as well as in the Injustice video games.
Here’s another look at Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam, albeit this time with him in the main character’s original Teth-Adam form who’s still enslaved millennia ago.
Finally, here’s another badass shot of Black Adam, this time atop a throne, and judging by the soldiers at his feet, at least part of the story will indeed be set in the present day.
Finally, here we have Black Adam in flight!
It’s hard to say when we’ll actually get to see a photo of Dwayne Johnson wearing the Black Adam costume. While filming was originally expected to begin this month or in September, the current health crisis has complicated things, and Johnson has to finish shooting Netflix’s Red Notice before moving onto Black Adam. So now cameras are expected to start rolling in early 2021 instead, but at least we have this concept art to enjoy in the meantime.
Introduced in 1945, Black Adam is one of Shazam’s (formerly known as Captain Marvel) greatest adversaries, arguably just as prominent, if not more son, as Doctor Thaddeus Sivana. While Black Adam initially behaved like a straightforward supervillain, in the modern era, he’s frequently been depicted as an anti-hero who will do anything to protect the world, particularly the people of Kahndaq, but uses brutal methods frowned upon by your average superhero.
No Black Adam plot details have been revealed yet, though this artwork does confirm that we’ll learn how Teth-Adam gained his powers in ancient Kahndaq and subsequently became corrupted. This was quickly referenced during Shazam! when Billy Batson met the ancient wizard Shazam in the Rock of Eternity and soon after became the wizard’s new champion.
Dwayne Johnson also revealed last November that Black Adam will feature the Justice Society of America, DC Comics’ oldest superhero team. Thus far, the only confirmed member of the lineup is Atom Smasher, who will be played by To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before star Noah Centineo. Behind the cameras, Jaume Collet-Serra (who’s already worked with Johnson on Jungle Cruise) is directing and Undatable’s Adam Sztykiel penned the script.
Black Adam is set to work its magic in theaters on December 22, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on how it’s coming along. You can learn what other DC Comics-related movies are on the way with our comprehensive guide, and be sure to keep browsing through DC FanDome’s numerous offerings.
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