Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s involvement in Warner Bros.’ Shazam film has been in the ether for some time now, and almost since the project’s inception, the wrestler-turned-movie star has been attached to a role in the big-screen adaptation. However, what wasn’t always clear was which role the actor would play; would it be the protagonist and titular hero, or the more ominous part of Black Adam, the movie’s anti-hero?
In the end, Johnson announced that he was indeed going to suit up as the latter persona, and during the press rounds for the soon-to-be-released Furious 7, the actor spoke to Digital Spy about the path that led him to Black Adam and ultimately why he chose the supervillain over the out-and-out good guy.
“Ultimately I felt that with all due respect to Shazam, Billy Batson and the mythology that I love and has been with me for almost ten years now, what made me choose Black Adam was that the character was inherently more interesting to me. There were more layers to Black Adam, starting out as a slave, and then ultimately becoming the anti-hero who we enjoy today.
“In 2007 or 2008, I took a swing and asked the fans who would they rather have me play. Back then we were developing with New Line and Warner Bros., and Black Adam won.”
At the time of writing, Shazam is still very much in its nascent stages. With four years between now and the film’s planned release, only Johnson has signed on to star in the DC adaptation, while Bill Birch, Geoff Johns and Darren Lemke are on board to help pen the script.
Shazam has been tentatively slated for a release in 2019. But what do you make of the actor’s comments? Indeed, are you happy that he selected Black Adam over the titular hero? Let us know.
