Dwayne Johnson reveals Black Adam release date and striking concept art

Chancellor Agard
Dwayne Johnson reveals Black Adam release date and striking concept art

Dwayne Johnson‘s long-gestating Black Adam project finally has a release date — and a striking new image of Johnson as the mythic DC Comics character.

On Thursday, the Jungle Cruise actor revealed that his Black Adam movie will hit theaters Dec. 21, 2021. Along with that announcement came new concept art — courtesy of DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee and Australian artist BossLogic (a.k.a. Kode A) — that depicted the Rock as Shazam’s biggest foe, which Johnson released on Instagram.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; DC Comics
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; DC Comics

“This role is unlike any other I’ve ever played in my career and I’m grateful to the bone we’ll all go on this journey together,” Johnson captioned the photo on Instagram. “I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people – but he does it his way. Truth and justice – the BLACK ADAM way.”

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The Man in Black ⚡️ Like most kids growing up, I dreamed about being a superhero. Having cool superpowers, fighting for what’s right and always protecting the people. It all changed for me, when I was 10yrs old and was first introduced to the greatest superhero of all time - SUPERMAN. As a kid, Superman was the hero I always wanted to be. But, a few years into my fantasy, I realized that Superman was the hero, I could never be. I was too rebellious. Too rambunctious. Too resistant to convention and authority. Despite my troubles, I was still a good kid with a good heart - I just liked to do things my way. Now, years later as a man, with the same DNA I had as a kid - my superhero dreams have come true. I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people - but he does it his way. Truth and justice - the BLACK ADAM way. This role is unlike any other I’ve ever played in my career and I’m grateful to the bone we’ll all go on this journey together. BLACK ADAM 12.22.21 ⚡️ Huge thank you to my friends, @jimlee and @bosslogic for this first time ever bad ass collaboration.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Nov 14, 2019 at 9:06am PST

Johnson has been attached to the role of Black Adam since 2014. Given the character’s relationship to Shazam in the comics, there were initially plans for him to appear in 2019’s Shazam!, starring Zachary Levi as the titular character; however, those plans changed in 2017 and the character instead received his own movie. In June 2019, Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra signed on to helm Black Adam, which hails from New Line and Warner Bros.

At the moment, no plot details about the movie have been released. In the comics, Black Adam is usually depicted as an anti-hero, or an outright villain because of his corrupted magical powers; he’s the heroic Shazam’s darker counter-part. Drawing his abilities from the Egyptian Gods, he can usually hold his own against the likes of Superman. Furthermore, he’s also the ruthless ruler-protector of the fictional Middle Eastern country Kahndaq.

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