With the Shazam! movie ramping up for Warner Bros. and New Line, fans are still wondering when Dwayne Johnson will make his long-promised Black Adam debut in the DC Extended Universe. According to TheWrap, that introduction may come in Suicide Squad 2, with Task Force X going after a weapon of mass destruction: Black Adam himself! The role of superhuman MacGuffin reportedly won’t take up too much of Johnson’s time, indicating his actual screentime will amount to little more than an extended cameo.
Johnson previously teased the villain’s debut, telling Fandango, “We have a really cool surprise for Black Adam that I can’t reveal, in terms of where we will see Black Adam being introduced.”
The Accountant and Warrior director Gavin O’Connor will serve as writer and director on Suicide Squad 2, which will go before cameras in October of 2018. Most of the stars of the first Suicide Squad are expected to return for the sequel, including Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Karen Fukuhara, Jay Hernandez, Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and Will Smith. The 2016 original wound up bringing in more than $745 million at the worldwide box office.
Undateable creator Adam Sztykiel is currently writing the Black Adam solo film. Adam was originally part of the Shazam! film before they were separated into two projects. Johnson has been attached to the role in some capacity for nearly ten years and though it now seems to be moving along, the project is still without a director.
The current plans for the project are for Black Adam to not appear in the upcoming Shazam! movie at all, though a previous report indicated there could be a teaser for the character as early as next year’s Aquaman. Shazam! will star Zachary Levi as the titular hero and Asher Angel as Billy Batson, with Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg set to step behind the camera. It’s scheduled to start shooting next year for an April 5, 2019 release date.
Originally Teth-Adam of Kahndaq, 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.
