Dwayne Johnson Explains Why He Fought to Keep Black Adam Out of 'Shazam!'
DC Entertainment/Warner Bros.
Movie

In a new interview ahead of the release of his own film, the wrestler-turned-actor reveals why he was against the initial idea to introduce his character in the first Shazam movie.

AceShowbiz - When a Shazam movie was in development, there were rambling talks that Black Adam would appear in the film. While Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had been cast for the role at the time, the character didn't show up in the 2019 movie sharing Zachary Levi.

Now, Johnson has admitted that he was the one against the idea to introduce Black Adam in "Shazam!". In an interview with Vanity Fair ahead of the release of his own movie, he explains why he fought so hard to keep his character out of the first Shazam film.

The "Jungle Cruise" star then started lobbying for the bad guy to get his own film. "I made a phone call," he shares. "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.' "

Fortunately for Black Adam fans, Warner Bros. honchos eventually granted Johnson's wish. With the upcoming movie, it's their goal to introduce the lesser-known comic book character. "I always get asked, nine times out of 10, 'Well, what’s taken them so long? How come we haven't heard of this character?' " says Johnson, who sees that as a plus. "We get a chance to deliver a movie, deliver a character, that's never been seen before. There has been no other Black Adam."

The 50-year-old then begins explaining his character's moniker. "Black Adam's real name is Teth-Adam. And the Black in Black Adam refers to his soul," he says.

Comparing Black Adam to Superman, Johnson says, "When you pull Black Adam out of the pantheon of superheroes in the DC Universe, he is blessed with these incredible superpowers from the gods that rival Superman. The difference is, well, a few things. Number one, Superman's greatest weakness is magic, and one of Black Adam's greatest superpowers is magic."

While Superman has long been hailed as a superhero, Black Adam falls more into the category of antihero. "Superman won't kill anybody. There's a code that he lives by and he honors," the wrestler-turned-actor elaborates. "Black Adam has a unique code of ethics too. He will not hesitate-and I like to have a little fun when I'm explaining this-to rip somebody in half." He adds, "Literally, he'll grab someone by the neck and by the thigh and then rip them up, tear them apart."

Director Jaume Collet-Serra, meanwhile, gushes that "Black Adam" is not like any other superhero movies. "It's not your typical superhero movie where a guy wants to be a superhero and gets the powers, and then you spend 50 minutes trying to figure out how the powers work," he states. "This is a movie where you introduce Black Adam right away, and then throughout the movie you slowly peel back the onion and reveal what happened."

"Black Adam" is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on October 21.

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