One thing that has become readily apparent in the promotion of the upcoming superhero film, “Black Adam,” is that Dwayne Johnson and the folks involved with the project don’t really want to talk about Shazam. This is interesting because the characters of Black Adam and Shazam have been linked for more than half a century in the comics, serving as sort of yin and yang versions of the same idea. But Johnson isn’t here to talk about Shazam, and he clearly doesn’t want the two characters bonded from the beginning.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Dwayne Johnson talked about the origins of his “Black Adam” film and how he wasn’t happy being lumped in with a possible Shazam story.
For those unaware, Black Adam, in the comics, has been linked to Shazam since the very beginning. Both men have the exact same power sets but one is a good hero who uses his powers to save humanity (and is played by the delightful Zachary Levi in the “Shazam!” film franchise) and the other is a former tyrant who isn’t afraid to murder people if they get in his way (and is played by Johnson). There is really no separating the two. It would be like trying to explain Venom without mentioning Spider-Man. Oh wait, Sony tried that already…
Regardless, the folks at Warner Bros. thought the exact same thing when they were initially planning a “Shazam” film years ago. They wanted to not only explain the title character but also introduce Black Adam. But when Johnson signed on, that plan was changed.
“When the first draft of the movie came to us, it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam: Two origin stories in one movie,” Johnson explained. “Now that was the goal — so it wasn’t a complete surprise. But when I read that, I just knew in my gut, ‘We can’t make this movie like this. We would be doing Black Adam an incredible disservice.’ It would’ve been fine for Shazam having two origin stories converge in one movie, but not good for Black Adam.”
He added, “I made a phone call. 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.’”
Obviously, when you have The Rock offering up suggestions, you listen. And that’s exactly what WB did. “Shazam!” was released in 2018 with no overt mention of Black Adam, with Johnson’s “Black Adam” coming later this year, with apparently no overt mentions of Shazam. Is this an idea that will help or hinder the growth of both franchises? That has yet to be seen. Will this prevent Shazam and Black Adam from crossing paths in the future? Fans are certainly hoping to see this happen.
“Black Adam” arrives in theaters on October 21.
