According to Deadline, Dwayne Johnson will no longer star as Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam film. Rather, the character will be getting his own solo outing. The plan is for Black Adam and Shazam to meet up sometime later in the future.
It seems that the studio executives decided this was the best route to take, as they didn’t want to waste Dwayne Johnson’s screen presence on a mere supporting role.
Per the Deadline report:
“Originally, the plan was for him to play the character in Shazam!, which is the tale of a teen boy who can transform himself into a superhero by speaking the word “Shazam!” Black Adam is his arch-nemesis and a complex antihero with a rich history of his own. As the studio began to figure out the movie, they realized, why not a twinbill? Johnson, who was excited enough about his meeting last week at the studio to tweet it (after a hard shoot on the newest Fast & Furious installment), has done well with New Line.”
THR also adds:
The plan is for the first SHAZAM! movie not to have Black Adam as the villain although he would/could appear in one down the road.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) January 19, 2017
There’s currently no one attached to writing or directing Black Adam, but Henry Gayden seems to be writing the script for Shazam. Borys Kit also noted on Twitter that our first reveal of Black Adam could be in Aquaman next year, so we might get to see Johnson in the role sooner than we think.
Source: Deadline / THR
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