Any DC fans worried that Black Adam was going to pale in comparison to the gritty universe created by Justice League director Zack Snyder can safely put their fears at rest. HBO Max’s latest featurette on the upcoming new addition to the DC Expanded Universe, entitled A Flawed Hero, gives us a glimpse of a rawly powerful antihero who might end up making Batman look like a character in a sitcom.
In the featurette Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra states that Adam is a character who walks “a fine line between doing the right thing and doing what needs to be done,” which apparently means using a degree of force never really seen in a comic book movie outside of The Watchmen. Johnson’s Adam is seen liberally applying his vast array of super powers to punish those he perceives as wrongdoers.
One scene shows JSA member Hawkman, played by Aldis Hodge, warning Adam to not let go of two prisoners he has flown up miles into the sky. Adam complies by only letting one of them go after which he plummets to the earth. Kahndaq rules are apparently a far cry from Smallville rules.
According to Hodge, Adam “crosses a particular line where there’s more room for savagery without accountability.” Something which will not set well with the JSA and, presumably, the other hero of the DCEU all but confirmed to appear in the movie at some point.
According to Black Adam actor Dwayne Johnson, he will possess “the kind of superhero/supervillain qualities that changes the game and can take the power and turn it on its head.” Johnson has promised that this movie will be a gamechanger for the DCEU. It looks like his character will be taking extreme measures to make sure that prophecy comes true.
Black Adam will release theatrically on Oct. 21.