The jury’s still out on whether Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will end up fighting Superman or Shazam on the big screen, but he won’t be lacking in superheroes to clash with in his first DC Extended Universe movie. Black Adam will spotlight the Justice Society of America, with the lineup in this reality consisting of Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman, Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate. Director Jaume Collet-Serra has now teased what kind of dynamic we can expect from their feature film debut.
Describing the JSA as being “integral” to the Black Adam story, Jaume Collet-Serra said that this version of the team will be a mix of veteran crimefighters and newcomers to the superhero game, and they’ll have to get in a proper groove with one another to properly deal with Dwayne Johnson’s title character. As the filmmaker told Total Film:
You have a couple of seasoned veterans, like Hawkman and Doctor Fate, and you have a couple of newbies like Atom Smasher and Cyclone. And that chemistry and coming together to try to defeat someone who’s undefeatable like Black Adam, creates a lot of interesting situations – without having the pressure to carry the whole movie. That’s a much more fresh way in.
Debuting in All-Star Comics #3 in the winter of 1940-1941, the Justice Society is the oldest superhero team in comics, and for a long time, their lineup consisted entirely of heroes who’s fought together during World War II. However, Geoff Johns’ run on the JSA comic book saw some of the original Justice Society members mentoring younger connected to the team’s legacy. Now it’s been confirmed that this same kind of team structure will be present in Black Adam, and while we don’t know yet how long Hawkman and Doctor Fate have been around the DCEU, they’ll be showing Atom Smasher and Cyclone the ropes as they try to defeat the powerful Black Adam.
The Justice Society of America’s profile has increased in recent years thanks to appearances in TV shows like Smallville, Legends of Tomorrow and Stargirl, as well as leading their own animated movie, titled Justice Society: World War II. Black Adam, however, will surely catapult the team’s popularity even higher. Between the team’s cinematic debut in Black Adam and an Hourman movie entering development, maybe it’s possible a JSA movie could happen someday.
For now though, Hawkman, Atom Smasher, Cyclone and Doctor Fate will collide with Black Adam in the DCEU after the Kahndaqian anti-hero awakens is freed after being imprisoned for 5,000 years. The movie’s cast also includes Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz, as well as Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, Bodhi Sabongui, Mo Amer and Uli Latukefu in undisclosed roles. The criminal organization Intergang will also factor into the narrative equation.
Black Adam charges into theaters on July 29, 2022, but in the meantime, our upcoming DC movies guide is available for those of you curious about what else this superhero franchise has in development.
