Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is now set for a monumental arrival as he steps foot in the world of the DC Universe as Black Adam. Along with the antihero's long-awaited arrival, fans are also wondering whether Black Adam is somehow connected to Shazam, the antihero's arch-nemesis in the source material.
In terms of box office performance, Shazam! already won the first round, and Johnson seemingly deserves some credit for the film's performance.
In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Dwayne Johnson and producers Beau Flynn and Hiram Garcia discussed initial plans for Zachary Levi’s Shazam! and Black Adam.
“The original plan, maybe five or six years ago I think, was to tell the two origin stories of Shazam! and Black Adam in the same movie," Johnson said. "That’s what we had worked on… the script was delivered. When we all read the script, I immediately felt like, ‘We have to separate these two movies. We have to honor Shazam! and that origin story and what that is and what that can be for the fans and then we also have to tell our story, too, as well.’ I think in separating them, with the majority of the world not knowing who Black Adam is if you weren’t a serious comic book fan, it was important, I think to separate them and tell each story respectively.”
All thanks to Johnson, the actor was able to separate Black Adam and Shazam! with a single phone call.
Flynn chimed in, “I got a phone call very early in the morning from Dwayne Johnson, which is always very intimidating… he called Hiram and I, he just said, ‘Brothers,” he said, “We’re gonna make Black Adam. We’re gonna tell this story. It’s so big and so important,’ and that was it. It was really an amazing... Dwayne’s instincts are so extraordinary but he was right. Again, we were deep in it and developing that script with both of them and there’s a reason why sometimes in our business sometimes you have to keep moving forward and sometimes the business tells you. We weren’t really cracking it. It wasn’t really working and then that’s when that call came through and everything changed.”
No one would that the two DC characters undeniably deserve their own origin stories. However, given that both Billy Baston and Teth-Adam were chosen by DC wizard Shazam to be his successor, it would totally make sense if a crossover happens. With that said, Shazam and Black Adam could either team up or go against each other in the future.
For now, DC hasn't yet announced any project that includes the two, but fans would certainly pay good money to see both characters in an epic battle.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Black Adam will premiere in theaters on October 21, while Shazam! Fury of the Gods arrives on December 16.
Also read: Black Adam Drops Action-Packed First Trailer
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