For the last few years, practically the only thing we knew about the long-mooted Shazam! movie was that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be appearing as villain Black Adam. Through various interviews, Johnson spoke of his interest in the character as an anti-hero, which suggested that DC were making him the star of the show. Now, that’s been confirmed, as we learned this week that the actor will be getting his own Black Adam solo movie.
It’s an interesting move, and one that could shoot Johnson up the ranks to become one of the major stars of the still-growing DC Extended Universe. Perhaps in a way that will be similar to how Tom Hiddleston’s Loki always steals the show whenever he shows up in one of Marvel’s movies, Johnson could become the DCEU’s standout villain.
Just who is this Black Adam fella, though, and why is he interesting enough to warrant his own movie? Allow us to explain as we dive into 10 key facts about the character that you should know now that he’s set to become a huge part of DC’s cinematic universe.