The Black Adam movie is moving forward and, though he is a pre-eminent DC villain and at best an antihero, perennial good-guy action star and babyface wrestler Dwayne Johnson is unquestionably excited to roll cameras for the film, finally.
One of the things that appealed to Johnson about the ancient powerhouse Black Adam is his strength and powers which are on the level of DC’s elite hero, Krypton’s Last Son, Superman. Johnson spoke with MTV backstage at this year’s Movie and TV Awards, where he received a Generation Award. Here is what he had to say when the topic of Shazam came up:
“Black Adam has the same powers as Superman. Think about that. That’s why it’s so cool and exciting.”
Adam possesses all the abilities the Wizard granted Billy Batson — strength, speed, flight, invincibility, energy protection — so he does have powers similar to Superman’s. More than that, they are magical in nature and Adam is thousands of years old; hence he’s had time to test his potential. Black Adam is more than a match for the Man of Steel and fought him to a standstill on occasion — even with Captain Marvel in the fray.
Johnson also talked about this summer’s release, Hobbs & Shaw, and potentially working with Keanu Reeves. MTV tweeted the clip and you can watch it right below.
.@TheRock caught up with @MTVnews backstage at the #MTVAwards to discuss the Keanu Reeves #HobbsAndShaw rumors! 👀
Watch him receive the #MTVAwards Generation Award on Monday at 9p pic.twitter.com/LZ2D8M7gQ5
— MTV (@MTV) June 17, 2019
Johnson has been attached to star in Black Adam since almost the beginning. Teth-Adam has been in the pipeline for a movie as far back as 2000 but didn’t get serious traction until the last decade. The turn in fortunes for the DC Extended Universe after Aquaman fast-tracked his long-in-development standalone film, which finally acquired its director.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam is set to begin production, according to lead actor Johnson, next year at the same time as Shazam! 2. No release date is announced yet for either one.
Adam and Billy Batson are undoubtedly headed for a future confrontation. Given Batson’s established friendship with Big Blue, a smackdown between the man from Kahndaq and the Kryptonian is possible but not part of the plan at Warner Bros. for now.