Black Adam

[The Cool Thatguy]

Yes...he wanted Superman in the film to tease something ahead. That evil baaaastard. If people point to Shazam deal , well ...he wanted to really give a jolt to the mainstream DC Film universe. Which was Superman (which hadn't had a sequel and had this worked...Cavil would have gotten it) as a central figure etc.

Rock tried to take a slipping slope of a universe and give it a jolt. Executives got mad and so did fans. So now he trolls them with his cool entrance in a way. Which is peeerfect.

Yes, he wanted a Superman tease but didn't seem to really run it by anyone. As a result, we lost us the One True Witcher.

You can say that Rock tried to inject something into the DCU, but I'm hard pressed to see what. His Black Adam was the Rock's typical anti-hero, only with less acting on his part (which is almost impressive).

There was no jolt, just Dwayne's standard fair. He had to be the center of attention, but dare not offend.

If anything, he pushing the slipping universe closer to the edge.

[Scott Taylor]

The Rock using Black Adam type imagery to sell his new entrance was beautiful. It was the ultimate FU to those WBD executives and fans blaming him for Black Adam. The way he seemingly materializes at the final lightning strike with a cloud around him...was awesome.

Nice. Hey I'd accept him doing another Black Adam movie, under the new regime. Just hopefully he'd be more of a murder hobo. Under Gunn, thats pretty likely.

[j9ac9k]

DC film universe needed a bit of a shake up honestly. Things weren't going well as we saw and the idea was to inject some change into the stew. Only the 1st Aquaman , Shazam and Wonder Woman films were really good box office wise. The rest people felt under-performed.

Yes...he wanted Superman in the film to tease something ahead. That evil baaaastard. If people point to Shazam deal , well ...he wanted to really give a jolt to the mainstream DC Film universe. Which was Superman (which hadn't had a sequel and had this worked...Cavil would have gotten it) as a central figure etc.

Rock tried to take a slipping slope of a universe and give it a jolt. Executives got mad and so did fans. So now he trolls them with his cool entrance in a way. Which is peeerfect.

It's funny - you make it seem like he was trying to help the DCEU out of some love for the universe or creative inspiration. But it seemed to me he was only trying to help himself - if he had his way Superman wouldn't have taken center stage, it would've been "Superman v. Black Adam." Like wrestling, he was trying to manufacture a grudge match, where no grudge had existed for either character as though audiences only want to see the two most powerful dudes duke it out, regardless of character, mythos or actual motivation.

[The Cool Thatguy]

It's funny - you make it seem like he was trying to help the DCEU out of some love for the universe or creative inspiration. But it seemed to me he was only trying to help himself - if he had his way Superman wouldn't have taken center stage, it would've been "Superman v. Black Adam." Like wrestling, he was trying to manufacture a grudge match, where no grudge had existed for either character as though audiences only want to see the two most powerful dudes duke it out, regardless of character, mythos or actual motivation.

Is there a wrestling term for when the opposition team is only there to make someone else look good? Is that just 'jobbing'?

Because the JSA were just jobbers. And the same likely would have been true of Superman

[James Cameron]

Obviously Dwayne had a passion for the character. He was cast as Black Adam ten years before the movie came out. He was supposed to be the villain in Shazam and was the first role ever cast for that movie before the DCEU even existed. When that initial movie plan fell through he was still attached to the character, and most likely wanted to use Black Adam to create a unique success in the superhero zeitgeist. But because of that ambition to stop at nothing to make this character huge all the marketing came off as embarassing and way too self serious. In trying to hold onto this role he lost the character.

[kcekada]

Honestly, Superman vs. Black Adam is not that interesting a concept. Superman will best him -- despite the magic lighning. Captain Marvel/Shazam versus Black Adam is interesting because Cap can't beat Black Adam one-to-one -- even though both have the same exact powers.

[Scott Taylor]

Superman vs Black Adam is not really that interesting. Because Superman has super-intelligence, making him about 50 times smarter than BA, leading to his downfall every single time. The only really interesting time for Black Adam to be a threat in the comics was during 52 when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were off the table. Adam was still defeated but it took some doing, a lot of heroes and ... two weeks? Superman would have his butt within ten minutes max. The Rock never understood that, he just saw Black Adam as a match on a power level but didn't account for anything else, like how Adam is so flawed in his personality and so stupidly egotistical.

[krazijoe]

Superman vs Black Adam is not really that interesting. Because Superman has super-intelligence, making him about 50 times smarter than BA, leading to his downfall every single time. The only really interesting time for Black Adam to be a threat in the comics was during 52 when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were off the table. Adam was still defeated but it took some doing, a lot of heroes and ... two weeks? Superman would have his butt within ten minutes max. The Rock never understood that, he just saw Black Adam as a match on a power level but didn't account for anything else, like how Adam is so flawed in his personality and so stupidly egotistical.

So you're saying the guy playing Black Adam was not thinking about how BA is not smart...Interesting...

[j9ac9k]

Superman vs Black Adam is not really that interesting. Because Superman has super-intelligence, making him about 50 times smarter than BA, leading to his downfall every single time. The only really interesting time for Black Adam to be a threat in the comics was during 52 when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were off the table. Adam was still defeated but it took some doing, a lot of heroes and ... two weeks? Superman would have his butt within ten minutes max. The Rock never understood that, he just saw Black Adam as a match on a power level but didn't account for anything else, like how Adam is so flawed in his personality and so stupidly egotistical.

When was the last time Superman was shown to have "super-intelligence?" It's not a common thing outside of silver age comics is it?

[krazijoe]

When was the last time Superman was shown to have "super-intelligence?" It's not a common thing outside of silver age comics is it?

He has Blue Kryptonite in his pocket.

[Scott Taylor]

When was the last time Superman was shown to have "super-intelligence?" It's not a common thing outside of silver age comics is it?

Whether or not its "super" - the point is Superman can outwit Black Adam.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Whether or not its "super" - the point is Superman can outwit Black Adam.

Maybe, maybe not, who cares?

They aren't great foils for one another, and if The Rock was in charge, Superman would be acting as the heel.

No thanks.

[kcekada]

It's the fight nobody wanted except Johnson.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Obviously Dwayne had a passion for the character. He was cast as Black Adam ten years before the movie came out. He was supposed to be the villain in Shazam and was the first role ever cast for that movie before the DCEU even existed. When that initial movie plan fell through he was still attached to the character, and most likely wanted to use Black Adam to create a unique success in the superhero zeitgeist. But because of that ambition to stop at nothing to make this character huge all the marketing came off as embarassing and way too self serious. In trying to hold onto this role he lost the character.

I would argue he has a passion for the role more than the actual character of Black Adam.

[James Cameron]

I would argue he has a passion for the role more than the actual character of Black Adam.

Yeah, it was definitely the role moreso than the character. But I want to believe he was passionate enough to hold onto it for 15 years.

It was fans who convinced Dwayne to "look into Black Adam"

From 2007:

"They first approached me about playing Captain Marvel, and they also said 'and there's also this interesting character too called Black Adam.' I said oh, okay, great. And we went down to Comic-Con to show the trailer of Get Smart. Down there talking to all the fans they were like 'you should look into Black Adam.'"

This Shazam movie was gonna be made by Peter Segal - we know that Black Adam was 100% the villain and also that Dwayne was preferential to Segal as director and his vision for the movie. So with that in mind, I believe that Dwayne was on board with a traditional more villainous portrayal.

Flash forward to 2014, when it's officially announced (again) that the Rock is playing Black Adam (but just the role, not what movie he would be appearing in) , Dwayne classifies Adam as an "anti-hero with charm" right off the bat.

Can't wait to play BLACK ADAM. We'll find that anti-hero balance of ruthless rip your throat out w/ wonderful charm..

My best guess is that he was cool with being a villain but in the time between the initial Shazam movie being dropped and him joining the DCEU he became the richest actor in Hollywood, an entire commercial entity, and also likely became more familiar with Black Adam's more "heroic" angles in some books. It was also in that time that the MCU became a massive success and superheroes were all the rage. He was holding onto this role from 2008 desperately looking for how he could make this his ultimate contribution. So I think in that time of him becoming this mogul actor reaching for further success, he lost who and what Black Adam was.