There’s something you have to understand about Dwayne Johnson, and it’s that his badass image is a carefully built construct. From his time in the WWE to now, Johnson has always carried himself as the toughest dude in the room, but also as the hero of his own story. Now that he’s one of, if not THE, biggest Hollywood stars in the world, Johnson is more devoted than ever to depicting himself a certain kind of way. Does he ever lose a fight in the movies? Is he ever the bad guy? No, and that attitude continues with his long-awaited arrival into the DCEU with Black Adam, a film he has been shepherding for many years.
In the comics, Black Adam, or Teth-Adam, is an antihero but he leans more towards villainy as a rival of Shazam. Johnson has long teased that once this movie arrives it’ll change the heirarchy of power in the DCEU, which is clearly claiming that he is now more powerful than Superman. Based on the awesome action seen in this trailer, it’s tough to dispute.
Not only do we see the birth of Black Adam’s godlike gifts, but also that he isn’t shy of killing anyone who gets in his way. This puts him at odds with the debuting JSA (Justice Society of America), heroes who walk the straight and narrow path. As one of my favorite superteams I’ve been hyped to finally see them action. Aldis Hodge is shown in his full winged glory as Hawkman, Noah Centineo is Atom Smasher, Pierce Brosnan is the mystical Doctor Fate, and Quintessa Swindell is Cyclone.
Also in the cast ars Sarah Shahi as Black Adam’s primary love interest Adrianna Tomaz aka Isis, with Marwan Kenzari in what appears to be a villainous role.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam hits theaters on October 21st, followed by HBO Max just 45 days later.
