Wrestling Superstar turned acting Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been attached to a Black Adam movie for what feels like forever. After a while, thanks to the troubles of the DC extended universe in part, the project stopped looking like it had legs.
That was until this past weekend and Shazam!‘s defiance of expectations, leading Johnson, who was an Executive Producer on Shazam!, to take to Instagram with congratulations and some good news.
In a tip of the hat to the film and its makers, including himself, he said this:
“We had a defining moment at the box office this weekend, where we launched a movie that I helped produce called Shazam! and you guys have made it a really big success around the world.”
Then Johnson got to the juicy part. Black Adam goes into production by next year and dished about the length of time he’s been developing it – saying Adam is an antihero he is ready for:
“Black Adam is an anti-hero, or villain, who I cannot wait to play. I’ve been developing this, and it’s been with me in my DNA for over ten years now. We should start shooting that in about a year. Very excited about that.”
Johnson made it a point to remind everyone Black Adam is connected to Shazam:
“For those who know the comic books, and the mythology of the comics of Shazam know that Shazam is connected to Black Adam.”
Black Adam is the flipside of young and noble Billy Batson. The first to inherit the magic of the Wizard, he allowed the power to corrupt himself.
Adam goes back to the Fawcett Comics years of Captain Marvel, but only made one appearance. It wasn’t until DC revived the character that he became a major player.
Alluded to in Shazam!, he doesn’t show up in full though Johnson is an executive producer. Black Adam is referenced in Shazam! when Djimon Hounsou’s Shazam details another champion who was given powers, but used it to unleash the Sins on the world.
The decision to keep Black Adam and the big red cheese apart was made early on and was meant to lead to a standalone film or an appearance in another DC film. At one point, Adam was going to be the villain in Suicide Squad 2.
Johnson also produced this year’s indie biopic Fighting with my Family, about fellow wrestler from a wrestling family Saraya Paige Bevis.