The DC Extended Universe began in 2013 with Man of Steel, followed by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League, and has since become one of the highest-grossing film franchises in history. After some adjustments, Warner Bros. and DC Films are now ready to welcome the next phase of the DCEU, and Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson says he's confident in what's to come.
In addition to introducing the corrupted anti-hero to audiences, Black Adam will also feature a live-action Justice Society of America that includes Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell). Bodhi Sabongui as Amon and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate are rounding out the cast, while Viola Davis will reprise her role as Amanda Waller from The Suicide Squad.
In a recent interview with Collider at the San Diego Comic-Con, Johnson spoke about the future of DC and what it looks like, revealing that he feels optimistic about the direction Warner Bros. and DC Films are taking. "I am humbly confident that the DCEU will continue to grow out nicely," the actor said. "There's nice shifts that are being made in terms of executives that now create new opportunities for new minds to come in and that also speaks to the trust that Warner Brothers and DC has with myself and the trust that they have with Seven Bucks [Productions]. So, I feel quiet, humbly confident that we'll continue to grow up the world of DC."
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"Because, when you pause for a second, and you don't reach for the obvious, and you dig a little deeper, and you open up the books," Johnson continued. The Black Adam star also speaks about the importance of exploring more than just the title DC characters. He said, "[...] you keep opening up those chapters, and then you see not only the deep mythology but the deep cadre of characters that are there."
Johnson was to make his Black Adam debut in 2019's Shazam!, though he didn't appear in the final product due to his character's spinoff starting development. The film had an initial summer release date but suffered a delay in production caused by a jammed VFX pipeline. Warner Bros. later announced that Black Adam would hit theaters in October, becoming one of the few DC films to stick to its 2022 release.
DC and Warner Bros. are taking a risk by introducing a new set of characters, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in relation to other DCEU projects. Black Adam has the potential to become one of the most successful DC films in recent history thanks, in part, to Johnson's charm. Nevertheless, charisma isn't enough to make a movie work, and how audiences receive Black Adam remains to be seen.
Black Adam hits theaters on October 21, 2022.