Black Adam finally hits theaters this Friday on October 22nd, 2022 — we say finally because the movie and the role in particular have been in the making for a over a decade. Although the first official announcement that Johnson was going to play the titular anti-hero came in 2014, the first unofficial press break regarding him playing Black Adam ran all the way back in 2007 (from Peter Sciretta of SlashFilm), which he shared on his Facebook page along with his reasons for why the role was so meaningful and important to him.
“Holy s—, look at this press break from 15 YEARS AGO when it was first announced I was going to play Black Adam,” Johnson said on the message accompanying the image. “15 hard years of fighting to make this passion project a reality. Years of studio execs saying ‘[are] there any other DC superheroes you want to play INSTEAD of Black Adam?’
“My answer was always no. To me – and us at @sevenbucksprod – Teth Adam’s story mattered.”
Johnson goes on to describe why the story of Teth Adam resonates with him, describing the character as a “dangerous and universe shifting kind of hero.”
“A slave, yet blessed with the powers of Superman – Teth Adam is full of rage because his family was ripped away from him. Gone forever,” Johnson added. “You may not agree with Black Adam’s form of justice, but he’s a protector of his people and will always do what’s right. That’s a compelling, dangerous and universe shifting kind of anti hero. And when I was a little boy the one thing that drew me to Teth Adam when I saw my first Black Adam comic… he was a hero of color. That mattered to me then. As it matters to me now. Kids of ALL colors around the world will now be able to see themselves in Black Adam.”
Johnson reiterated this sentiment of why he so strongly desired to play Black Adam over any other comic book character in a sit down with ABC News.
“I always felt like it was a matter of convincing our studio partners to try to look beyond the Justice League,” Johnson said. “I love the Justice League. But when you look past them, you open up the DC bible. There are so many cool characters you can tap into.”
And again in an interview with the NY Times.
“I had been approached — I won’t say by who — to play a few other superheroes,” Johnson said. “Who eventually went on to be played by other actors. But I did always feel in my gut that Black Adam was the character for me. The first time I saw a Black Adam comic, I was intrigued. There was an intensity on Black Adam’s face. There was a little bit of rage on that comic book cover. Oh, and he had brown skin like mine. That immediately intrigued me. Who is that? I want to be him.”
When asked if it was important to be able to bring a character of color to the big screen, Johnson replied, “What’s critical is the investment in more superhero characters of color, and Black Adam is one of them. It was extremely important to me and one of the reasons why I was not letting go.”
Johnson also has more planned for the character beyond the Black Adam film. When asked by CinemaBlend if Black Adam might draw the attention of Superman, in one of the worst kept secrets in comic book movie history, he point blank responded, “Absolutely. That is the whole point of this man. Thank you for asking that. And I have been saying for some time, there’s a new era in the DC Universe that’s about to begin.” Johnson’s involvement with the DCEU is also rumored to have been the catalyst for not only Henry Cavill returning to the Superman role, but a Man of Steel sequel with Cavill attached as well.
What do you think of the rationale of Dwayne Johnson on playing Black Adam? Will the fifteen-year-struggle to play the character pay off on the big screen? Let us know in the comments.
