Well...after several years of dancing around this film project, with names as diverse as Jake Gyllenhaal and Brandon Molale, now the guy once attached to play Black Adam instead is playing Shazam(aka Captain Marvel) himself, Dwayne Johnson.
I like it, actually! He will bring some exuberance and goofy humour to the role, which isn't required to play someone like Superman. And DC & Warners gets to broaden out their ethnic casting a bit more for their longstanding whitebread heroes, and this isn't too much of a change.
This writer does not seem to get that Zack Snyder is too busy for this film. Also, Peter Jackson would likely only do it if he could film in New Zealand.
I agree, I feel like if The Rock played Black Adam then we'd see Adam in a different light instead of "Oh I'm a douchebag of a bad guy." He wouldn't be the villain that we're "supposed" to hate.
I think it's the right call to get one of the biggest movie stars today to play Shazam, because that's the selling point to get the unknowing public into theatres. It's not the same as Superman, who is much better known as a concept and it's better to cast lesser known actors in the role.
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"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison
Being Captain Marvel would be very different for superhero movies (in a good way if done right), but if it's going to be part of the DCCU then I think he'd be better placed in it as Black Adam going with the tone MOS established. And I really hope this would at least be 1 other solo franchise that helps build up to Justice League.
Either way I'm so on board for this. However it's not officially confirmed yet and nor is the year of release.
Rock just tweeted another hint today. Saying, "someone's going to get it". With a pic of superman, shazam, and black Adam. It's obvious now that it will be either of the 2.
But that sets up the problem of who plays Shazam, since you'd have to get someone nearly equally as famous to play him. Or you've got a situation like in the first Batman, where it became about seeing Jack Nicholson as the Joker and it overwhelmed Batman as the star of the film.
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"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison
The best thing they could do, imo, is make Adam the anti-hero, and have him do a huge punch-up with Superman. Let them kick the shit out of each other. Would make the fight in Man of Steel look like two toddlers have a slap fight.
adam can easily be a separate franchise from billy.
the only reason I think they'd have him play billy is due to shazam being more well known.