All you need to do is look through the many, many pieces of fanart depicting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as DC Comics’ villain Black Adam and you’ll know people are excited for him to take on the role in Shazam!. In fact, even before the DC Extended Universe got under way and Johnson signed on to play Black Adam, he was a popular choice among fans thanks to his intimidating stature and striking likeness to the character. And now, with Johnson very quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, the timing couldn’t be better for Warner Bros. to get production underway.

Since announcing the project and officially attaching Johnson to play the villain, there hasn’t been much news concerning Shazam! beyond assigning it a 2019 release date. That puts the film’s release after Justice League, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman – all films currently in one stage of production or another – making it the next film on Warner Bros.’ docket for the DC Extended Universe. Given that timeline, an announcement about Shazam! is likely to come any day now. The film’s producer, Hiram Garcia, even recently teased there are “big things” are coming for both Shazam! and Black Adam.

Now Johnson has taken to Instagram and made similar comments, suggesting there’s news about Shazam! right around the corner. In his post, Johnson shared that he’s had a “very cool and strategic meeting with the heads of DC” and that he’s “fired up” about the “tonal shifts and developments coming in these future movies.” Check out his post below for his full comments:

Had a very cool and strategic meeting with the heads of DC about their entire universe. As a hard core DC fan, to get a real sense of the tonal shifts and developments coming in these future movies has me fired up. Something we, as DC fans have all been waiting for for a very long time. Hope, optimism & FUN. Even when talking about the the most ruthless villain/anti-hero of all time finally coming to life. Prepare yourselves DC Universe. #KneelAtHisFeet #OrGetCrushedByHisBoot #BlackAdam A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Jan 11, 2017 at 4:07pm PST

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It isn’t all that surprising to hear Johnson sound so excited at the prospect of finally bringing Black Adam to the big screen – either in Shazam! or another DC film. After all, he’s been attached to the role for years. However, it is notable that he mentions the upcoming “tonal shifts” of the DC Extended Universe, following those comments up with, “Hope, optimism, & FUN,” which seems to echo the criticism that the DCEU has been lacking in those particular qualities from the onset. That’s been the pitch for all of the DCEU’s upcoming films – they won’t be as dark or grim as Batman V Superman or Suicide Squad. Now it appears we can add Shazam! to that growing list of more upbeat DC films – though, to be fair, if Shazam! does feature a noticeably lighter tone it will probably have more to do with Shazam’s alter-ego being a young child than some franchise-wide decree to keep things from getting too serious.

Either way, there will be nothing light about Black Adam, with Johnson even referring to him as “the most ruthless villain/anti-hero of all time”. On top of being ruthless, Johnson also considers Black Adam to be one of the “most intriguing” characters, citing his backstory as a slave who’s granted incredible power only to later feel betrayed as a reason for his interest. Altogether, Black Adam is a fascinating, deeply flawed, and really powerful villain, and we (like most of you) cannot wait for Johnson to finally play him on the big screen.

Source: Dwayne Johnson

  • Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Justice League Release Date: 2017-11-17 wonder woman Release Date: 2017-06-02 The Flash Movie Release Date: 2023-06-23 Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21