Audiences have believed a man could fly since Richard Donner’s Superman was released in 1978, and that’s become truer than ever over the last 20 years as the superhero genre has firmly established itself as cinema’s most bankable form of entertainment, with more costumed crimefighters than ever gracing the big screen.
Advances in technology have also made things a lot easier and more straightforward than the nightmares faced by Donner’s effects team as they pioneered the flying technology, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for constant improvement. Seeing a man of Dwayne Johnson’s dimensions careering through outer space is an interesting proposition to say the least, and in a new interview Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia teased that the movie has utilized brand new and completely unique methods to put the titular antihero into full flight.
“This is a character with amazing abilities. He has super speed, can fly, and has world breaking strength to name a few. We wanted to make sure moviegoers feel that throughout the entire movie. You’re not going to see him use super speed just once and then it stops, this is part of his arsenal. It’s common to see abilities fall to the wayside when dealing with characters like that but one of our many goals was to keep continuity there and push the bar in terms of how we do it. For example, the technology we’re using to make Black Adam fly has never been done before. It’s completely unique. It was critical for us to ensure that it felt special, authentic, and real. Jaume took that to heart. Our special effects team are Oscar winners, and we certainly put them to work.”
Everyone involved in Black Adam is certainly saying all the right things, whether it be Johnson repeatedly insisting that the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change, director Jaume Collet-Serra calling Teth-Adam the Dirty Harry of superheroes or Garcia himself admitting that the kill count isn’t going to be affected or impacted by a PG-13 rating.
Shooting has now wrapped, which must be a relief for the leading man having spent the best part of fifteen years attached to the role, but Black Adam isn’t coming to theaters until July of next year. However, the second annual DC FanDome virtual event is coming up at some point before the end of 2021, and having released a sizzle reel at the inaugural showcase, maybe we’ll be getting out first look at either Johnson in costume or a glimpse at this groundbreaking flying technology.
