The DC Extended Universe isn’t in the best shape right now. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad both failed to perform how the studio had no doubt hoped they would. The latter got railed by critics while the former struggled to hit even $1 billion at the box office, which is shocking given that it features two of the most iconic characters in any medium, ever. Still, Warner Bros. is pushing on with their plans, hoping that they can start to turn things around.
While it remains to be seen whether or not upcoming efforts like Justice League and Wonder Woman will be able to do that, there is one thing to look forward to when it comes to the DCEU as it will most definitely give the franchise a bit of a boost. We’re talking about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who’s one of the most charismatic and watchable actors in Hollywood today, hence why we’re so excited to see him hop on board Warner Bros.’ burgeoning cinematic universe.
As you no doubt know by now, the actor will be playing Black Adam, who we haven’t met in the DCEU yet but who could make a cameo in the upcoming Justice League, or even feature as the main villain in Man of Steel 2. The rumors have been coming in thick and fast, but we still can’t say for sure where the character will show up first. One place he won’t be appearing though, is in the Shazam film.
Despite that being the original plan, some unconfirmed reports have begun to surface which say that the project is “practically off the table” at the moment. Apparently, the studio wasn’t feeling the first drafts of the script and right now, they’re far more interested in Black Adam. Still, they do hope to include Billy Batson in one of their films, but it’s not known in which movie he’ll appear or in what capacity. As such, we still don’t know who Warner Bros. is looking at to play the character. Or do we?
Earlier this week in Miami, our own Matt Donato caught up with Johnson for an exclusive interview to promote his new effort, Baywatch. Our full chat will be published shortly, but during our discussion, we spoke with the actor about his upcoming DCEU project and he was more than happy to share with us. Among other things, we asked who he’d like to see play Shazam, and his answer was pretty interesting, as he wants none other than Armie Hammer in the role.
That’s an intriguing choice for a number of reasons, not least because Hammer has been teasing his involvement in the DC Extended Universe for some time now – though fans had always assumed he’d be showing up as Green Lantern. And while he still might, Johnson’s vote for him to play Shazam could be more than just wishful thinking on the actor’s part. Does he know something we don’t? Possibly, but until the casting process heats up, we won’t jump to conclusions.
For now, take a look at what The Rock had to say about both Black Adam and Shazam in the video above and leave us a comment in the usual place with your thoughts on all this.