Black Adam and Shazam were supposed to debut in the DC Cinematic Universe as supervillains and heroes together, but it was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, star of the upcoming “Black Adam” movie, who kept the two separate. “When we first received the first draft of the film, it combined Black Adam and Shazam: Two Origin Stories in One Film,” Johnson told Vanity Fair:
“That’s what the movie was meant to be, so it didn’t particularly surprise me. But when I was reading the script, my gut was, ‘We can’t make this movie like this. We’re going to do a really bad job with Black Adam’s character. Big damage’. For Shazam, a fusion of two origin stories in this movie would be great, but not so good for Black Adam.”
The character of Black Adam first appeared in Fawcett Comics’ Marvel Family #1 in 1945 as a one-time villain. After DC purchased several of Fawcett’s characters, Black Adam became the heroic character Shazam’s number one enemy. While putting both characters in the same film makes sense, considering that Black Adam is not a full villain, and the backstories are very complex, telling the origins of both characters together might make the film very confusion.
“What’s different regarding Black Adam is that he has his own creed,” Johnson said on the latest Total Film “Black Adam” cover album: “If you try to hurt his people, his family, his country Or himself, he’ll tear you in half.”
Black Adam will be released on October 21, 2022.