After months of negotiations, speculation, and teases, professional wrestler and Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has broken his silence on who what comic book character he’ll be playing in an upcoming superhero movie, and it’s a role that fits the man’s moniker of “The Great One” to a tee.
Behold… BLACK ADAM~!
Black Adam… Literally the “Black Sheep” of the Shazam family. Now, The Rock will play this power player of a character in the DC Cinematic Universe.
Making the announcement via his official Twitter page, the actor started things off with a quote that directly references the nature of the character he’s playing:
“Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.” My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 3, 2014
And just like that, the man better known as The Rock confirms a role everyone feels he’s best suited for.
A fanart interpretation of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam… And it looks very convincing to boot.
Like the bolt of lightning the endows the character with his amazing powers, Johnson’s announcement of playing the DC Comics’ anti-hero came at a most unexpected time – true to the star’s jovial and charismatic nature that has been part of his appeal since he broke out as a wrestling superstar during the late 90’s as “The Rock“, combining his sharp talking abilities with the microphone with his athletic prowess and physique while performing in the ring. This career would help Johnson rise to stardom and pursue acting in Hollywood, with his first starring role as the Scorpion King in 2001’s “The Mummy Returns” and inevitably getting lead parts such as “The Rundown” and “Walking Tall”. Eventually, Johnson’s career would bear fruit and see him in blockbuster franchises, starring alongside Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker in the “Fast & Furious” films and playing the character of Roadblock in Paramount Pictures and Hasbro’s live-action adaptation sequel of the G.I. Joe film franchise, G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
While the seeds were planted months before when he announced that he was in talks with Warner Bros. to play a role in a future DC Movie, Johnson’s role wasn’t exactly confirmed until this point, and many were wondering if he was going to play other characters from the DC Universe such as Lobo or even Green Lantern John Stewart. He soon squashed those rumors however, as one of his tweets showcased the characters Superman, Shazam, and Black Adam. Now with Henry Cavill already in the role of the Man Of Steel, it was obviously left down to the hero formerly known as Captain Marvel or his dark counterpart for Johnson to choose from. Eventually, the announcement finally came, and while no release date for the Shazam! movie has been given, one of the stars has finally been chosen along with Variety reporting that “Jack The Giant Slayer” screenwriter Darren Lemke is penning the screenplay.
“Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot…” That is Black Adam.
No stranger to fans of DC Comics, Black Adam is the predecessor of Shazam/ Captain Marvel, whose villainous history and rise to power is marked with both tragedy and corruption. Gaining the abilities of flight, super strength, energy manipulation, and magic, the man known as Teth-Adam was originally chosen by a powerful wizard to serve as his successor. Unfortunately, he decides to use this power to rule over humanity, and is thus shunned and banished by his master. However, the newly christened “Black Adam” manages to return from his exile to the present day, where he challenges his eventual successor Billy Batson, a young boy that the wizard gives abilities to and changes into Shazam/ Captain Marvel.
Despite being a primary adversary of the Shazam/ Marvel family, Black Adam has other responsibilities, such as overseeing and ruling the fictional city of Kahndaq. He also became somewhat of an anti-hero through the years, joining the ranks of the Justice Society of America and even finding a new love in Isis, who helps him establish a more heroic reputation and building a “Black Marvel Family” of his own. Unfortunately, the character later returns to his villainous ways, and even in The New 52 rebooted DC Universe he is depicted as such.
Black Adam throws it down with Shazam and Superman. Just imagine when The Rock squares off against Henry Cavill in a future DC Movie.
While the character has also appeared in other mediums, including video games like Injustice: Gods Among Us and the DC Universe Animated Original Movie “Superman/ Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam” where he was voiced by The Mummy film star Arnold Vosloo, there has yet to be a Black Adam seen in a feature film setting. What version we’ll see with Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal in the future Shazam! film remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain – Black Adam is a force not to be underestimated with.