Dwayne Johnson has made his decision. Just two weeks after he told the press that he didn’t know if he would be playing the hero Captain Marvel (aka “Shazam”) or the villain Black Adam in the upcoming feature film adaptation of the DC comic book series Shazam, he revealed via Twitter that the choice has been made: he’s going rogue.
“Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.” My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics
The danged thing is, Warner Bros. has yet to officially announce the film, or a director, or a release date. The only people we’re getting any information from at this stage is Dwayne Johnson himself. Maybe he’s also found work in the Shazam publicity department.
UPDATE: Variety now reports that screenwriter Darren Lemke is officially attached to the project. You may know his work from Jack the Giant Slayer and Turbo, two of the worst movies of 2013. He also wrote the upcoming adaptation of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. If Hollywood’s tendency to pigeonhole talent is still in place, it’s quite likely that Warner Bros. hired Lemke to write a script that appeals to younger audiences than their recent Batman and Superman films, but for now, that’s just conjecture.
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Black Adam is one of Shazam’s arch-enemies in the comics, along with the mad scientist Dr. Sivana and the speaks-for-himself Captain Nazi. He received Shazam’s godlike powers in Ancient Egypt, but was corrupted by their influence and became a dictator rather than a hero. In recent years, Black Adam has become something of an antihero, saving the world when it suits him or when other bad guys piss him off.
We’ll keep you posted with more news as Shazam gets underway, presumably with some official news from the studio at some point in the near future.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
