The DC Extended Universe is a place known for keeping fans on their toes, thanks to dizzying drama on an off screen. While the future of some projects remains unclear, the next upcoming DC movie hitting theaters is Jaume Collet-Serra’s Black Adam. And Dwayne Johnson recently explained why he fought for his character and Shazam to have their own movies before crossing over on the big screen.
In DC comics, Shazam and Black Adam are often each other’s nemesis, with their comparable power levels making for epic battles. Fans are eager to see this play out in live-action on the big screen, but it’s still going to be a few years before we see these two titans meet. Dwayne Johnson confirmed that he fought for this methodical approach to the crossover, sharing his perspective on Twitter by saying:
💯 trueOriginal script had both #BlackAdam #Shazam establishing their origin stories in one film. I fought hard for both characters (+ JSA) to have their own stand alone films for the fans to enjoy.And protect Black Adam’s ruthless & extremely violent tone as we build out #DCEU https://t.co/KFrokn5TjnAugust 15, 2022
There you have it. It looks like Dwayne Johnson preferred to give both Black Adam and Shazam to shine on their own before bringing the DC titans together for a conflict on the big screen. This is in stark juxtaposition to other projects from the shared universe like Justice League or The Suicide Squad, which assembeld an ensemble of characters together without origin stories or solo flicks. In fact, it sounds more like the MCU’s MO during Phase One and Two.
Dwayne Johnson’s comments on Twitter also hype up just how murderous his DC antihero will be when Black Adam finally hits theaters this fall. The Rock has long been teasing that the hierarchy of power in the DCEU is going to change, and we’ll be able to watch as he fights a team of heroes in the form of the Justice Society of America. But we all know that the real match-up is going to include Zachary Levi’s young hero.
As The Rock shared, we could have seen both Black Adam and Shazam establishing their origins in one movie. Dwayne Johnson has been attached to play his hulking character for around a decade, and has seen various forms of the script come and go. Fans might have to wait longer to see the two DC characters clash, but these origin stories should hopefully result in audiences caring for both of them, thus raising the stakes.
As a reminder, you can check out the first teaser for Black Adam below. After being debuted at San Diego Comic-Con, this exciting footage made its way online. On top of featuring Dwayne Johnson’s title character, we get to see some of the JSA in action.
Anticipation is definitely high for Black Adam, especially considering how long it’s been worked on. Moviegoers are eager to dive back into the DCEU, as Robert Pattinson’s The Batman was set in its own universe. Although there are countless questions about the franchise after Batgirl was scrapped.
Black Adam will hit theaters on October 21st. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
