Black Adam and Shazam in the same movie? Not on Dwayne Johnson's watch!
Despite initially signing on to play Shazam's nemesis in the 2019 film, Johnson recently revealed that he insisted their stories remain separate.
"When the first draft of the movie came to us, it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam: two origin stories in one movie," Johnson, 50, recently told Vanity Fair. "Now, that was the goal — so it wasn't a complete surprise. But when I read that, I just knew in my gut, 'We can't make this movie like this. We would be doing Black Adam an incredible disservice.' It would've been fine for Shazam having two origin stories converge in one movie, but not good for Black Adam."
So the actor decided to lobby for the superhero to get his own name in lights.
"I made a phone call," Johnson recalled. "I said, 'I have to share my thoughts here. It's very unpopular…' because everybody thought, 'Hey, this script is great, let's go make this movie.' I said, 'I really think that you should make Shazam!, make that movie on its own in the tone that you want. And I think we should separate this as well.' "
Black Adam, DC Films' upcoming comic book adaptation about an enslaved man who is reborn with the magical powers of gods, is set to be released Oct. 21.
In a tweet earlier this week, Johnson further added that he "fought hard" for both characters "to have their own stand alone films for the fans to enjoy. And protect Black Adam's ruthless & extremely violent tone as we build out #DCEU."
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1019x172:1021x174)/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-comic-con-072322--2000-31a776863bfe4016b6fe6376c65e72bb.jpg "Dwayne Johnson Thought It Would've Been 'Incredible Disservice' for Black Adam to Debut in 'Shazam' (1)")
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When the trailer dropped in June, Johnson wrote, "This passion project has become my DNA and the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe will change. The world needed a hero. It got BLACK ADAM."
On SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show last November, Johnson teased why Black Adam is a different kind of superhero than a character like Superman because he "blurs the line."
"I think in the world of superheroes, which the world loves, there's a code of ethics and conduct that the superheroes abide by. But when it comes to Black Adam, who rose out of oppression and slavery and blessed with these powers that rival Superman's powers — but the difference is if you hurt him or certainly hurt his people or his family, the Black Adam way is that you die. There is no gray; it is black or white. What we have been delivering in the movie, I think people are really going to enjoy."
Meanwhile, a sequel to the original Shazam! movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, starring Zachary Levi alongside Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler, is also set to be released later this year.
Black Adam is in theaters Oct. 21. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in theaters Dec. 21.
