Hollywood’s worst kept secret has finally been confirmed; Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will officially play Black Adam in DC’s Shazam movie.
The Hercules actor has been linked to both the film and character for several weeks now, and he has even teased during interviews that he will prominently feature in DC’s burgeoning cinematic universe.
However, he has now officially taken to Twitter to post his announcement, captioning an image with the quote: “‘Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.’ My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics.”
You can check out Johnson’s tweet in all of its glory below:
“Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.” My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 3, 2014
Reports had previously suggested that Johnson would either play Captain Marvel, whose alter-ego is Billy Batson, or the hero’s nemesis Black Adam. However,
once the actor made it clear that the latter was actually his favorite comic-book character of all time it became obvious that Johnson would probably star as the villain of the piece.
Throughout Captain Marvel’s history, Black Adam, who is a powerful sorcerer intent on controlling the entire universe, has been a constant thorn in the superhero’s side. However, the fact that Johnson included the hashtag “#TheAntiHero” in his Tweet might suggest that there could a different, not entirely villainous, background to the character’s cinematic incarnation.
In fact, it’s still not clear if Shazam will primarily revolve around Black Adam or Captain Marvel. The fact that Johnson has confirmed he will play Adam before any casting information on his nemesis has been announced suggests that he could be the lead.
In the comics, Black Adam’s back-story has been changed several times. However, it’s believed that he was given his special powers by ancient Egyptian Gods, who kindly decided to give him unlimited stamina, super-speed, an abundance of strength, an abyss of wisdom, the ability to fly and an infinite amount of courage. It’s better than a pair of socks I suppose.
Of course, it’s still too early to even begin speculating on what the film might entail. Not only has it not even received an official release date yet, but we’re still not sure who is going to write or direct the adventure. Variety have reported that Darren Lemke, who wrote Goosebumps and Jack the Giant Slayer has been hired to scribe the blockbuster, while Hiram Garcia, who has worked with Johnson in the past, will produce.
It’s previously been predicted that Shazam will hit cinemas in May 2016.
[Image via Bing.com]