Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is no stranger to a big-screen event film. From inside the game of JUMANJI, dangerous rivers of JUNGLE CRUISE or the roads of FAST & FURIOUS, the Hollywood actor has led numerous massive movies, but this fall will bring him to a new height. The Rock will star in the DC superhero film, BLACK ADAM. Ahead of its big-screen debut, the upcoming comic book adaptation ventured to San Diego Comic-Con and debuted quite a grand entrance for the anti–hero.
On Saturday, July 23, SDCC hosted Warner Bros for a special panel on the future of DC films and Dwayne Johnson’s next movie lit up Hall H… literally. AMC Theatres was in attendance at the exclusive event and we’re ready to spill all the details on how BLACK ADAM electrified the fan event. As Johnson is teasing, the film could usher in a “new era” for the DC Universe and shift the current hierarchy of heroes. But before we get to that, check out the trailer.
Dwayne Johnson’s Commanding Comic-Con Entrance
Before the panel began, floods of smoke filled the stage of Hall H before Dwayne Johnson appeared in costume as Black Adam and sent lights out into the audience as his presence turned on lanyards with Black Adam’s lightning logo given to attendees before entering Hall H. While in character, Johnson told attendees they’d “been warned,” because “The DC Universe will never be the same again.”
A few minutes later Johnson joined BLACK ADAM director Jaume Collet-Serra, alongside his co-stars Aldis Hodge, set to play Hawkman, Noah Centineo, who will play Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell, playing Cyclone. He played off that he’d just made a commanding SDCC entrance, but said this of being in Hall H.
“To be here today, to watch Black Adam levitate and throw around lightning like he was passing out candy, I gotta tell you guys, this really is a dream come true,” Johnson said.
BLACK ADAM has been a passion project for the actor/producer for over a decade now. The long journey is finally going to be enjoyed by fans when it arrives to AMC Theatres this October 21st.
Born Out Of Rage
The movie follows Dwayne Johnson’s character, who begins life as a slave who experiences much hardship 5,000 years before the present day. He receives god-like powers and becomes an anti-hero, perhaps one that is perceived as a villain by many. The SDCC footage shown included an impressive and immersive action scene of some characters opening a tomb and awakening Black Adam into our modern times. When director Jaume Collet-Serra, who previously worked with Johnson on last summer’s JUNGLE CRUISE, spoke about the film, he spoke to the DC character’s uniqueness in the framework of Warner Bros’ other comic book films.
“I like movies with characters who operate in the gray area with their own sense of justice and morality and I think we talked early on [about Black Adam] being a Dirty Harry-type character,” said Collet-Serra. “When the system is broken and corrupt, sometimes you need somebody to break the system down and do the unconventional thing for the people, and I gravitated toward that.”
It looks as though BLACK ADAM will have a darker tone to it than some other movies of its genre, and will especially set itself apart through its leading character not having an expected moral compass when it comes to who he lets live and die, or how he may decide to deal with a dire situation. The director called it a “very unconventional origin story.” As Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate teases in the new trailer for the movie, he has the power to be the “destroyer” or “savior” of the world. Which one will he choose?
Get To Know The JSA
When Black Adam makes his way into modern times, it looks as though the Justice Society of America will be tasked with taking down the god-like superpower. That will consist of Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman, Sarah Shahi’s Isis, Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone, Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate and Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher. This team of new superheroes in the DC Universe means that its cast have an exciting opportunity to play characters based on already beloved comic book characters.
“It blew my mind, the opportunity to be part of this universe, the resurgence of this, Dwayne and Juame’s creation,” Centineo said at the panel. “I can’t tell you how excited I was just meeting [with the filmmakers] two and a half years ago and talking about it. [They] wanted to bring a very youthful side to the Justice Society… [I knew] it would be the single greatest, most fun experience of my life, and it was.”
While on the SDCC stage, Hodge also said he’s been a longtime comic book fan and nearly didn’t believe The Rock had offered him the role when he initially called him. Swindell got “choked up” introducing Cyclone, sharing how she is “protective” of her JSA hero. The cast behind the Justice Society of America sound very grateful and excited to bring us the comic book team on the big screen for the first time with BLACK ADAM.
BLACK ADAM
