The thought of Dwayne Johnson playing a superhero is a hugely enticing prospect, and the combination of the world’s biggest movie star headlining the most bankable genre in all of cinema almost guarantees that Black Adam is going to be a massive box office success. As well as the commercial gains, it’ll also be fun to see the 48 year-old finally portray a different sort of character from the relatively one-note action heroes that have become his stock in trade over the last decade.
Johnson possesses a hugely marketable blend of looks, charm, charisma and comic timing, but he doesn’t tend to stretch himself as an actor all that often despite being an underrated dramatic presence. He typically plays rugged and stoic men of action with either military or law enforcement backgrounds, who more often than not are clad in beige or gray and have a family to either protect or avenge.
We’ve seen various combinations of the aforementioned traits in the Fast & Furious franchise, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, San Andreas, Central Intelligence, his two Jumanji films, Rampage, Skyscraper and more in the last eight years alone, so the idea of him suiting up for action as a fearsome superpowered antihero with more than a hint of a bad streak is massively exciting.
Tipster Mikey Sutton is now reporting that Johnson wants Black Adam to be the baddest dude in the DCEU as well, which shouldn’t be too difficult given that he’s just as powerful as Superman but unlike his Kryptonian contemporary, he doesn’t give a sh*t who he has to hurt to get what he wants. Hopefully the superhero blockbuster paints the title character with some shades of gray, and if it does, then the leading man will more than live up to his promise.