With the critically and commercially acclaimed Joker, DC has ushered in a new sub-genre of superhero movies – the supervillain movie. Assuming you don’t count Birds of Prey (Harley Quinn’s more of an anti-hero), the next one of its type to come from Warner Bros. is Black Adam, the Shazam! spinoff set to star Dwayne Johnson as the ancient ruler of Kahndaq. And just in case you were, don’t expect it to be anything like Joaquin Phoenix’s dark psychological thriller.
Cinematographer Lawrence Sher previously worked on Joker and is due to join The Rock and director Jaume Collet-Serra on Black Adam. While speaking to Observer, Sher revealed when we can expect production on the film to begin and gave a tease at how his next DC movie won’t be like his last, saying that BA is “slightly more traditional” than Joker.
“The good news is we don’t shoot until July. So I’m just getting into the research and development phase of discovering how it will look. It’s super important to me because every time I set off to make a movie or a new project, I always feel as if I want it to be better than the last thing I worked on. I’m really excited about Black Adam because it’s different than Joker in that it’s slightly more traditional insomuch as it’s really drawing from the comics.”
Of course, this isn’t surprising to hear. As it stood apart from the DCEU and was envisioned as a bold and unique take on the Clown Prince of Crime, Joker deliberately pivoted away from established comic book stories and characterizations. In contrast, Black Adam will be set within the DCEU and, as the first time that Teth-Adam has been brought to the big screen, will draw from the source material to accurately introduce him to wider audiences.
What’s more, Black Adam will introduce the Justice Society of America to cinemagoers, too, with the likes of Hawkman, Jay Garrick’s Flash, Alan Scott’s Green Lantern and others reportedly appearing in the movie. Ahead of filming this summer, Johnson has been busy training. And, from the pics and videos he’s shared online, he looks even more jacked than usual. We certainly wouldn’t want to be Zachary Levi’s Billy Batson, who’s set to face his nemesis in Shazam! 3.
Black Adam blasts into cinemas on December 22nd, 2021.
