Earlier this week Small Screen broke the news that former James Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan had joined Black Adam’s cast to set appetites flowing for the future film’s release.
Read more: Black Adam Adds Pierce Brosnan As Doctor Fate
Then we had an expensive teaser stunt shown in Times Square a few days later taking over electronic bill boards across the iconic New York City landmark.
We can positively state, that Black Adam has demanded audiences take note at the newest addition to the DC Universe with a cinematic release date on July 29th 2022.
In a shared post of the event by star Dwayne Johnson via Instagram (@TheRock) he commented:
A disruptive and unstoppable global force of a message from the man in black himself, BLACK ADAM is coming July 29 2022. The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.
Notably in some circles online this seems to have received a lukewarm reaction, arguably if this was a Marvel Studios marketing stunt it would have been in the headlines for a week and a flush with discussion.
Black Adam is most likely unknown to many
Read more: Shazam! Director Would Like His Shazam Sequel Crossover With Black Adam
However, Black Adam is unknown to the average person or cinema goer compared to the likes of cinematic icons, Superman or Batman.
But knowing Dwayne Johnson and his production company which is involved in the production with Warner Brothers this won’t be the case for very long.
As we’ve seen with the Fast & The Furious series, Dwayne Johnson can revitalize a property.
The series saw a monumental shift in gross once Dwayne Johnson joined the cast (including a successful spin off Hobbs & Shaw).
With his global box office appeal, social media following, business aptitude and sheer determination to entertain, it’s fair to assume he will want Black Adam to be as big as DC heavyweights Superman and Batman.
There’s also the factor that aside from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ironically also played a DC villain in Batman & Robin in 1997, he’s probably the only Actor who looks physically superhuman.
Who Is Black Adam?
Credit: DC Comics
Read more: Henry Cavill Will Appear As Superman In Shazam 2
Originally a foe to Captain Marvel aka Shazam, first appearing in Marvel Family #1 in 1945, thousands of years before Baston became Shazam the wizard chose someone else…
Mighty Adam started as the hero of humanity, but soon became corrupted by his ideals and desires & exiled.
He returned in the modern day as Black Adam, and a thorn in the side of those who protected Earth.
In more recent years he’s been shown as less of a super villain and more of an anti-hero trying to fix up his reputation.
2007 And Dwayne Johnson
This is a film that has been over 14 years in the making with former professional wrestler turned Actor and box office superstar Dwayne Johnson attached since 2007.
Before the turn of the decade, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wasn’t exactly the box office star he is today.
Despite crowd pleasing turns in, The Scorpion King and Be Cool a string of films had failed to make a success at the Box Office.
From The Rundown, Doom, Walking Tall to Southland Tales whilst they didn’t set the box office alight, there was something in Dwayne Johnson’s performances that indicated there was something there.
Interestingly it was at the Southland tales premiere, that Black Adam was first linked to the actor.
The original plans were for an appearance in a Shazam! Movie, and actually had Johnson discussing the role of Shazam!, until he heard about Black Adam.
In an interview with Slash Film he stated:
I just met with Pete Segal last night… It was a great meeting on Shazam. We’re just waiting for John August to hand in another draft. I can’t wait to play Black Adam.
2014
We heard little if anything until 2014 when as pre-production on Shazam! began to grow steam, Variety reported the actor had been officially cast as the arch nemesis.
2017
Flash forward to the start of 2017, and the pre-production halted a singular Shazam! release in the works and split the project into two.
We’d have Shazam! first, and then a titular film to show the origins of Black Adam, before bringing them together in a third movie.
It was also suggested we may see an appearance in a Suicide Squad sequel, but as of yet this is still unconfirmed.
With the rise of Dwayne Johnson as a box office power, and gaining influence with his own production’s success, this probably further pushed the idea of a separate film.
2018
We were still without a shooting date, production or a script, but producer Dany Garcia told Collider that it was, “definitely happening”, and that they were “deep into a script right now”.
2019
We saw the first hints of a teaser poster with an initial release date of December 2021. And via The Wrap, Dwayne Johnson confirmed momentum was building and the Justice Society of America would debut in the film.
Initial filming was due to begin 2019, but was delayed to 2020 so that projects such as Jumanji 3 and Red Notice could be completed.
2020
Filming was again delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was pushed further to April 2021. At the DC Fandome, the actor made an appearance and even discussed the decade long production so far.
He also discussed his attraction to the character of being an antihero, and the origin story being rooted within slavery would aid in the audience understanding of the characters’ own sense of justice.
Director Jaume Collet-Sera was confirmed having worked with Dwayne Johnson previously with Disney’s Jungle Cruise, also starring Emily Blunt.
2021
Johnson confirms the release date of July 29 2021 with the Times Square teaser.
So whilst the film has certainly been a long time coming, it really promises to offer something fresh and different to the recent history of DC Films releases.
Which honestly, has been bit of a mixed bag all around ever since the critically panned Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.
As a result, a spin off studio, DC Films was formed by Warner Bros. Pictures to oversee comic book adaptations in and out of the DC Extended Universe.
Since then, we’ve seen mixed results both at the box office and with critics and audiences alike. And in some cases, multiple castings of the same character within a few years.
Are you looking forward to Black Adam?
If you are let us know below in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.
Alternatively, if you aren’t, why not? We’d love to hear from you too.
What do you make of this story? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages! And if you enjoy listening to film podcasts, why not check out our podcasts, Small Screen Stories and Small Screen Film Club wherever you get your podcasts!
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