Usually when there's one bit of DC Entertainment movie news, there's more coming shortly thereafter. Well here it is.
Earlier today Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson officially revealed he will be the anti-hero Black Adam in a Shazam movie. Previously, The Rock was not sure if he wanted to play the hero of Shazam or his long-time favorite character, Black Adam, in the feature film. He chose the latter.
[Quick side note: Keep in mind that Black Adam is also a 'Shazam' and has the exact same power-set as the hero. It does get a little confusing but let me continue talking about the Shazam movie.]
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the president of New Line Cinema — who will produce the film for its parent company Warner Bros. — Toby Emmerich spoke about the tone of Shazam.
"It feels to me like Shazam will have a tone unto itself. It’s a DC comic, but it’s not a Justice League character, and it’s not a Marvel comic. The tone and the feeling of the movie will be different from the other range of comic book movies.
Makes sense because, as The Daily SuperHero noted in an earlier post (see that post link below), it was odd how New Line Cinema and not Warner Bros. Pictures was producing this film. Both Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and assuming Justice League too, are all under Warner Bros. Pictures. But Shazam is not.
Seems like Warner Bros. is simply using New Line Cinema as a means to help them expand their DC Cinematic Universe. But it remains to be seen if Shazam will co-exist in the same movie universe as the Justice League gang.
Emmerich says Shazam will have some humor and Black Adam is a character whom the executive believes to be a highly intriguing character for the big screen.
"[Shazam] will have a sense of fun and a sense of humor. But the stakes have to be real.
“Black Adam is a complex character. The villain in superhero movies is often, I think, what makes the movie. And I thought Dwayne’s take on the character, and the way that he saw Black Adam, was really compelling and fun.”
Shazam does not have an official release date set, as of the publishing of this post, yet screenwriter Darren Lemke is already attached to write the script. So Shazam is in full development mode for production and filming to start most likely sometime within the next calendar year.
Related Posts: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Confirms he is BLACK ADAM in SHAZAM - UPDATE: Writer Attached to New Line Cinema Film