This year, it was revealed that the long-in-development Shazam movie would actually be split into two films, with the titular hero having one film and Dwayne Johnson’s villain, Black Adam, having his own movie as well. Speaking with MTV, Johnson opened up about the decision to split the films, saying:
“This is a really fun, cool time for DC right now because they’re world-building and building out….So what we decided to do was to create a scenario where Black Adam is having his stand-alone movie, and Captain Marvel, Shazam, will have his stand-alone movie and then that way we’re building our world up that way, and then we can come together at some point.”
Johnson went on to tease a surprise for the character of Black Adam, simply saying: “It’s just f***ing awesome.”
That tease could be related to Johnson’s meeting with Henry Cavill, wherein he teased “DC Worlds Will Collide.” Whether that means Cavill will appear in the Black Adam movie or Johnson appearing in a Man of Steel sequel is unconfirmed.
Originally Teth-Adam of Kahndaq, Johnson’s character Black Adam first appeared in Marvel Family #1 in 1945 and has gone on to be both a villain and an anti-hero throughout his history. The character has powers comparable to that of Shazam, including flight, strength, agility, lightning manipulation, as well as magic.
It was reported back in February that Light’s Out director David F. Sandberg was in talks to direct the Shazam feature, though no word has come down on who will helm the Black Adam movie as of yet.
