Dwayne Johnson Answers Questions At DC FanDome's 'Black Adam' Panel, Reveals Which JSA Members Will Be Featured

For over a decade, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been heavily involved in trying to bring Captain Marvel/Shazam nemesis Black Adam to the big screen. Eventually, we got the 2019 Shazam! movie starring Zachary Levi, and a Black Adam movie was green lit. Currently, it has a release date of December 22, 2021.

At the virtual convention known as DC FanDome, a panel was held for the film. This panel began with a teaser depicting Black Adam’s origin story. Resembling what one might expect from high-quality concept art (with the resemblance to Dwayne Johnson being spot on), it is done in the style of a motion comic. It does a good job of detailing Black Adam’s past with what little time it has. 5,000 years prior, in a country called Kahndaq, he was a slave. Eventually, he gained superpowers and fought back. Because of how dangerous he was, however, the wizard Shazam imprisoned him. 5,000 years later, however, Black Adam is free.

After this teaser, Johnson appeared on the screen to answer some questions from the fans. When asked the question, “How powerful can we expect Black Adam to be?” Dwayne Johnson made a point of mentioning that, unlike other superpowered characters, Black Adam does not practice restraint. This lack of restraint would make him very dangerous, as he would put no limitations on himself as he uses his powers.

Another question that Johnson was asked was, “If you could take any DC character to join you in an adventure, who would it be and why?” Johnson’s first answer was Wonder Woman, and he explained how he has a lot of respect for that hero, as well as how an adventure with both Black Adam and Wonder Woman could be interesting. His other answer was Superman, since he believes that it would be fun to see the two of them working together.

Johnson also talked about what made Black Adam stand out to him apart from other well-known DC characters. He loves the character’s anti-hero status, and he feels that his background as a slave makes for a compelling story to tell. Johnson also assured fans that, at the end of the day, Black Adam is a “ruthless keeper of justice.” Black Adam will do what he feels he needs to in order to achieve what he sets out to do.

Johnson also had a video chat with Noah Centineo, who is playing Albert Rothstein/Atom Smasher in the film, which will delve a bit into Atom Smasher’s journey of what heroism actually entails. However, he is not the only Justice Society of America member who will be appearing in the film. It was revealed that other featured JSA members will include Cyclone, Doctor Fate, and Hawkman. This is sure to be a surprise to a lot of people.

Johnson ended the panel with the following message: “Things will never be the same, because the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.” This sort of enthusiasm over the role invokes both chills and excitement.

With Black Adam and Shazam being so intertwined, it is only a matter of time before they cross paths on the big screen. While not much could be revealed at DC FanDome’s Shazam! panel, one thing that was revealed is that the title will be Shazam! Fury of the Gods. It seems like DC is getting some worldbuilding done with these characters, which is nice to see. By the time we see Black Adam interact with Billy Batson/Shazam on the big screen, viewers will be familiar enough with both characters and feel invested when they finally do meet each other.

Written by Steven Shinder

Syndicated From Culture Slate