Dwayne Johnson finally gets to join the superhero genre in the upcoming Black Adam film. The first trailer was released on June 8 and revealed The Rock’s epic transformation into the DC Comics antihero. “I was a slave until I died. Then I was reborn a god. My son sacrificed his life to save me. Now, I kneel before no one,” Black Adam says in the trailer.
When he’s told that “heroes don’t kill people,” Black Adam has a simple response. “Well, I do.” The Black Adam movie doesn’t hold back on the action whatsoever. At the end of the trailer, Black Adam catches a live rocket. While the rocket is in his hands, it explodes. Everything close to the explosion is obliterated — except for Black Adam.
Noah Centineo also appears as Atom Smasher. He’s a member of the Justice Society of America, alongside Doctor Fate, played by Pierce Brosnan, Cyclone, played by Quintessa Swindell, and their leader Hawkman, played by Aldis Hodge. The trailer also draws attention to Sarah Shahi’s Adrianna Tomaz, who will be important for the Black Adam story in her own way.
The first footage of Black Adam came out during the DC FanDome in Oct. 2021. The teaser, which occurs in the opening of the film, shows Adrianna and her partner causing an explosion of sorts that brings Black Adam into the picture. The Rock was at the event and spoke about how he was “born to be Black Adam.”
“Black Adam has been with me for over ten years now,” the actor and former pro wrestler said. “That gives you an idea of how passionate I am about this project. How passionate our Seven Bucks is about this project. Warner Bros., New Line Cinemas, DC, they have been so incredibly supportive over the years. In 2008 was when we first started talking about this. So it has required patience by all of us as partners. And I’m a much different man and actor than I was ten years ago. Even then, ten years ago, I just wanted to wait for the timing to feel right. And it feels like now, the man that I’ve become, I’m able to bring a little bit of my own life lessons and philosophies and engrain them in the DNA of this character.”
Black Adam is set to hit theaters on October 21, 2022. The film is being released in the same year as fellow DC films The Batman and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.