After years of being attached to the character, Dwayne Johnson is finally set to make his DCEU debut as Black Adam. Late last year, The Rock announced that his first solo movie as the antihero/villain was due out in December 2021. Essentially, it’s a spinoff of 2019’s Shazam!, starring Zachary Levi, which was notable for its lighter tone in comparison with previous DC films. But we maybe shouldn’t expect this tone to be carried over to Johnson’s flick.
We Got This Covered has heard from our sources – the same ones who said Diana will have her Golden Eagle armor in Wonder Woman 1984 and that a Green Lantern show is coming to HBO Max, both of which are confirmed now – that The Rock is pushing for Black Adam to go to some darker places, certainly darker than Shazam! This is not what Warner Bros. wants, however, as they’re hoping to deliver another fairly light-hearted, crowd-pleasing superhero adventure with a solid helping of jokes. It’s important to note, though, that our sources say this doesn’t mean there’s any trouble with the production. It’s just the usual creative discussions at this stage, but one side will have to win out eventually.
On the one hand, it’s surprising that Johnson would be pushing for darker material. After all, he’s mostly known for lighter fare himself. However, the actor has made clear that he’s a huge fan of the comic book character, particularly being fascinated by Adam’s origins as a slave who rose up to become the ruler and protector of his people. So, Johnson must want to honor the integrity of the monarch of Kahndaq in his movie.
The best case scenario here then is that the studio – who will surely get the final say – go with their generally lighter vision but allow Johnson to touch on the more dramatic material that he wants to as well. With the Justice Society of America expected to heavily feature in the film, the heroes could be given all the humor while Adam himself remains a more serious presence.
In any case, we should find out soon enough what kind of tone the film will have, as Black Adam is due to start shooting this summer, before blasting into cinemas on December 24th 2021.
