‘Black Adam’ Trailer: Dwayne Johnson Flips the DC Hierarchy on Its Head

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read

“The world needed a hero. It got Black Adam.”

The tagline for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s DC Comic Book film “Black Adam” says it all: He’s no superhero, but not everything is black and white.

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Johnson stars as Black Adam aka Teth-Adam, an extraterrestrial who was imprisoned on planet Kahndaq for 5,000 years. Black Adam shares his powers with an ancient wizard and visits Earth to go head-to-head with the Justice Society of America. The film premieres October 21.

Noah Centineo is Atom Smasher, a Justice Society member who can manipulate his size and strength. Aldis Hodge plays Justice Society leader Hawkman, a reincarnation of an Egyptian prince who flies using metal wings. Quintessa Swindell is Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan is Kent Nelson aka Doctor Fate, who encourages Black Adam to use his powers for good rather than destruction.

“Sex/Life” star Sarah Shahi rounds out the ensemble cast as a resistance fighter from Black Adam’s home world of Kahndaq.

“Black Adam” is directed by Johnson’s “Jungle Cruise” collaborator Jaume Collet-Serra.

The trailer for the Warner Bros. film first debuted at 2022 CinemaCon introducing audiences to the world of “Black Adam.” The release date for “Black Adam” was previously pushed back until October 21 along with fellow DC tentpoles “Aquaman 2” and “The Flash.”

Lead star Johnson previously teased the impact of Black Adam on the Justice League, captioning on Instagram that the “hierarchy of power in the DC [universe] is about to change” when announcing the swapped release date. Producer Hiram Garcia noted the delayed release from its original July 2022 summer blockbuster date was due to pandemic-related VFX production delays.

“I think we’re just in a world right now where there was a huge and understandable freeze-up when the pandemic hit and a lot of productions were put on hold,” Garcia told The Wrap. “Now that the industry has really roared back, the pipeline for VFX is so jammed. Obviously all these superhero movies just require so much VFX, and we’re just in a situation where the majority of the VFX houses are just completely swamped with work.”

“Black Adam” is a spinoff of 2019’s breakout superhero hit “Shazam!” starring Zachary Levi. The franchise lands a sequel, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” set for a December 16, 2022 release.

Check out the “Black Adam” trailer below.

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