When you think about it, it’s ridiculous just how long Dwayne Johnson has been angling to play Black Adam. He first became attached to portray the character on the big screen in 2007 – which was the same year that he starred in Disney’s The Game Plan. There have been a great number of ups and downs since then, but Johnson has not let hurdles derail the idea. He has continued to work and try to make it a reality, and that has gotten us to this point: the day that the first ever footage from the upcoming Black Adam blockbuster has been revealed.
A film more than a decade in the making, Black Adam will tell the story of the titular villain/antihero, who will be introduced as a slave in an ancient nation Kahndaq. The wizard Shazam finds him, and believing that he has the potential to be a great warrior for good he imbues him with spectacular power. Unfortunately, Adam is corrupted by this power, and after years of ruling with an iron fist, he is subdued and trapped for thousands of years.
In the present, the incredibly foolish mistake of releasing Black Adam is made, and is becomes the responsibility of a team of heroes to stop him: namely the first ever big screen incarnation of the Justice Society. Atom Smasher a.k.a. Adam Rothstein is being portrayed by Noah Centineo; Aldis Hodge is starring as the winged Carter Hall a.k.a. Hawkman; Quintessa Swindell is playing the current-controlling Maxine Hunkel a.k.a. Cyclone; and the master of the mystic arts Kent Nelson a.k.a. Doctor Fate is being brought to life by the great Pierce Brosnan. They will all join forces to try and stop the ancient villain from starting his reign of terror anew – while also presumably carving a path to a collision course that will see the eponymous antagonist face off against Zachary Levi’s Shazam (his sworn enemy in the comics).
Jaume Collet-Serra, who recently collaborated with Dwayne Johnson on the box office hit Jungle Cruise, is directing the film, which went into production back in April. Along with Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, and James Wan’s Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom the movie will be one of four live-action DC features hitting the big screen in 2022, but it is the only one that is set up during summer blockbuster season. Black Adam is now only a few months away, set to be released everywhere on July 29, 2022.
For the full rundown of all of the DC Comics movies that are set to be released in the coming years – in 2022 and beyond – head on over to our Upcoming DC Movies guide. And, of course, stay tuned here on CinemaBlend as we get closer and closer to the release of Black Adam and get more sneak peaks at the Dwayne Johnson-led action.
