Black Adam Director Says Dwayne Johnson Plays the “Dirty Harry” of Superheroes

Jungle Cruise is finally being released next week and it won’t be the last time director Jaume Collet-Serra works with Dwayne Johnson. In fact, The Rock just wrapped filming Black Adam, the new DC movie that saw Collet-Serra at the helm. During a recent interview with Variety, Collet-Serra spoke about Johnson and compared the actor’s performance in the upcoming Black Adam to Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry.

“Having just done a romantic adventure comedy where he’s very light, I was really attracted to getting the dark version of Dwayne. Basically, turning him into Clint Eastwood in a Western. I was like, ‘You’re like the Dirty Harry of superheroes,’” Collet-Serra shared. “I didn’t have to convince people that I was right for this one in the same way that I did for Jungle Cruise. It’s like things I’ve done with Liam [Neeson], that tough-guy antihero who has a heart. The world is not black and white. The world is in gray areas, so you need these people that are riding that gray area.”

Johnson isn’t the only Jungle Cruise star getting compared to iconic movie characters. During a recent visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Johnson compared his co-star, Emily Blunt, to Indiana Jones.

“She’s super talented. She’s a multi-threat and we became great friends,” Johnson explained. “I love her. I love her family… John [Krasinski], their kids. We’re all one big ohana as we like to say in the islands.” He added, “I can’t wait for everybody to see her in this movie because she truly is the female version of — and this is saying a lot — but she truly is the female version of Indiana Jones … I’m very proud of her and how much she kicks ass in this movie.”

As for Black Adam, the movie is set to co-star Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Marwan Kenzari and Sarah Shahi in undisclosed roles.

Jungle Cruise arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 30th. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here. Black Adam is currently scheduled to hit theatres on July 29, 2022.

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