It’s been more than a decade in the making, but 2021 is set up to be the year that the world is introduced to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “Black Adam.” The film marks the actor’s first major foray into the world of superhero filmmaking, with him headlining a feature that is one of the most anticipated DC films currently in development. But with “Joker,” “Birds of Prey,” “The Batman” and other projects showing that not all DC films exist in the same cohesive universe, many were wondering how “Black Adam” figures into the larger plan? Well, according to Hiram Garcia, a producer on the film, not only is Black Adam a character we’ll likely see more of in other films but so are some of his supporting cast.
Speaking to Variety, Garcia was asked to talk about “Black Adam” and the feature’s placement in the overall story of the DCEU.
“The journey we’re going to put Black Adam on, it’s very compelling — what he’s gone through and what you’re going to see on-screen is going to be amazing to watch play out, and then when you couple that with how powerful every character is who is going to be in the universe, it’s really going to heat things up,” said Garcia. “We have a lot of fun saying that the hierarchy of the power in the DC Universe is going to change because when Black Adam arrives, everyone needs to watch out because he’s going to change the game.”
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And since the hierarchy of the DC Universe includes the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and other established film characters, that begs the question—how does “Black Adam” fit in the overall DCEU? Well, that all begins with the introduction of the Justice Society of America, a legendary comic book team from the DC Universe that predates the Justice League. And introducing those characters puts “Black Adam” smack dab in the middle of the larger cinematic universe.
“Our entire production team and our amazing director, Jaume Collet-Serra, we all have unified, giant ambitions for what we want to do with these characters and the JSA and all those new members we’re introducing from Hawkman to Atom Smasher to Cyclone and Doctor Fate,” said the producer. “It’s an opportunity to put ourselves in the DC Universe, and really start to create a fun group of characters that audiences haven’t had the chance to see, but that a lot of them are familiar with.”
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He added, “We’re working closely with DC in terms of what the plan is for how everyone fits together. It’s still in the works, but obviously ‘Shazam’ exists in the ‘Black Adam’ universe. I can just say that we have very big ambitions for ‘Black Adam’ and all of the characters that we’re introducing. How they’re going to connect with other characters is still all being laid out, but I think fans are going to be happy, ultimately, with the way we end up guiding it.”
“Black Adam” is currently scheduled for a December 22, 2021 release date.