You’d have thought that superhero blockbuster starring Dwayne Johnson would be more than enough to drive Black Adam forward, but we’ve already been hearing from some of the key creatives that the movie was designed with one eye on spinoffs.
The most obvious candidates would be the Justice Society of America, the team comprised of Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate, Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman and Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone. How they factor into the narrative hasn’t been officially revealed as of yet, but director Jaume Collet-Serra has been doing a little teasing nonetheless.
Speaking to Total Film, the filmmaker says it was much easier to incorporate the JSA into Black Adam as supporting players, as opposed to putting them center stage in their own standalone effort, which comes with its own set of pressures.
“You have a couple of seasoned veterans, like Hawkman and Doctor Fate, and you have a couple of newbies like Atom Smasher and Cyclone,. And that chemistry and coming together to try to defeat someone who’s undefeatable like Black Adam, creates a lot of interesting situations without having the pressure to carry the whole movie. That’s a much more fresh way in.”
If fans are receptive to the JSA, then the chances are high that solo outing will end up getting a green light that could set them off on their own run of adventures, untethered to the real star of the show. Johnson is more than enough to sell Black Adam to the masses, so it’s a smart move to have them factor heavily into the story without pushing them to the forefront just yet.