Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson has a few choice words for the rest of the heroes in the DCEU. He plays the god-tier titular anti-hero and he’s been promising a change in the hierarch in the DC cinematic universe. Now, he’s taken it a step further.
Johnson posted the new poster to his Twitter of Black Adam sitting upon his throne and holding up his fist. This should give people an indication of exactly what the actor means when he writes, “The time of heroes is over,” and follows it up by saying the film will usher in a new era of the DC Universe.
The DCEU has been in a precarious state for years with no clear sign of a strong overarching plan like the mechanically proficient MCU. Black Adam is one of the DCEU’s biggest bets at recovering some ground with a big name like Johnson attached to it, and a character that has the potential to make a big impact.
The Black Adam trailer shows Johnson as Teth-Adam, an enslaved man whose son saves him from death. He rages afterward, seeking revenge against his captors over the slain boy, and he’s given the great power by the wizard Shazam to set things right. He takes this power too far, however, and he’s imprisoned for thousands of years, but when he comes back in the modern age he’s still in revenge mode. It’ll take the combined might of the Justice Society of America to try and rein him in.
The story will be unlike many other superhero movies in the past in that Black Adam isn’t the quintessential “good guy.” He’s straddled the fence and has found himself either fighting with other heroes or firmly against them, and not everything is black and white. Actor Mohammed Amer, who plays Karim, the brother of Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi), has said that Black Adam reveals is influenced by real-world politics.
Black Adams comes to theaters Oct. 21.