Black Adam: Dwayne Johnson Calls Training for DC Movie the "Most Arduous" of His Life

By Jamie Lovett

Dwayne Johnson says he went through the most challenging workout regime of his career to prepare for his role in Black Adam. After all, overturning the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is no simple task. Speaking to Men's Journal, Johnson says, "The training we did for this movie was the most arduous I've ever done in my life." Johnson tells the magazine that he sought or outdo Black Adam's physique as artists have drawn it in the DC Comics universe. And of course, he added, "I promise you this: The hierarchy of power in the DC universe is about to change."

Going into more detail, Johnson implies he's been preparing for his role as Black Adam for his entire life. "I started training for Black Adam when I came out of the womb," Johnson says. "I believe I was born to play this character. But in all honesty, this project has been with me for 10 ten years now. The process began when we started to stand the material up and really developed it into what it is present day. Once the start date was agreed on by our Seven Bucks production company, the rest of my team, Warner Bros. Studio, and DC Comics, I started to build an exhaustive training program with my coach Dave Rienzi. I wanted to come into this in the best shape of my career."

Describing what sets Black Adam apart from DC's other iconic costumed characters, Johnsons says, "Superheroes live by a code of ethics and a line of integrity. But with Black Adam, depending on how you look at him, he has the ability to be a hero, an antihero, and a villain. One of the things that drew me to Black Adam is his origin. He started out enslaved. Any time you have a character, or any human being, who has wrongfully been held down by others, it means so much more when they begin to rise up. Black Adam rises with a big f****** chip on his shoulder—and an edge. In the traditional DC Universe, as we all know, if you do something wrong Superman and Batman are gonna try and bring you to justice. If you do something wrong to Black Adam, you're going to die. It's that simple. I believe this character is going to bring a unique edge to the superhero genre. We're gonna be turning preconceived notions on their ear."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Black Adam opens in theaters on July 29th.

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