By now, if you have familiarized yourself with anything Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or the crew involved with DC’s Black Adam film in any way, you’ve probably heard the phrase; “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.” Johnson has been saying it with each new piece of content in regards to the film and fans are eating it up. At DC FanDome in 2021, the film finally shared a true first look at something more than concept art, introducing audiences and some unfortunate characters to Johnson’s Black Adam. According to producer Hiram Garcia, the President of Production at Seven Bucks Productions, this is just a small taste of the vicious character fans will see next year.
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“I will tell you that I’m glad you dug the FanDome piece,” Garcia told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview. “It was really important for us to set the table and make sure that all the fans knew that we weren’t messing around, and that we weren’t making a soft Black Adam. It was important for us to show that the first guy who approaches him is no longer on the planet. I think that sets the tone that this isn’t a broad movie, this isn’t Shazam!, or anything like that.”
The Black Adam movie had almost begun to seem like a myth to some fans. An exciting fable they might not get to sit down and watch. Johnson was cast in the role back in 2014 but changes to plans within the DC movie world (Black Adam was once planned to debut in the first Shazam! movie) and other circumstances kept seeing the film get pushed back, now until the Summer of 2022. In the mean time, ComicBook.com has caught Garcia and Johnson in several interviews where they have shared the enthusiasm for DC Comics and this character, specifically. Now, Garcia is ready to double down on how thoroughly invested the team is in satisfying the comics fans and delivering something with some serious weight to it.
“We take it very serious,” Garcia explained. “The edge that Black Adam has, if you are a threat, there’s probably not a chance you’re going to get to breathe another breath around this guy. And I think that, that was really important for us to just make a statement and make sure everyone understood. Look, we know what you guys want. We know what this character is supposed to be. We’re going to do our best to make sure that we honor that and turn him into a monster.”
Recently, Garcia and others got to sit down and watch the first cut of Black Adam as it was assembled by director Jaume Collet-Serra. “Well you know any director’s cut is chunky, right? That’s the director’s cut,” Garcia said. “It’s always going to be nice and chunky. So we’re going to put that thing on the treadmill, get it nice and lean, but it was awesome. I’ve got to tell you, it’s really fired up to see a movie that early. There’s nothing in it, no effects, and for it to still be that much fun, and to sit there and lean back and go, ‘Okay, we’ve got something fun here.’ I’m fired up, man. I think you’re going to dig it.”
While Garcia will credit everyone involved with the film for his being so fired up, he is also quick to praise Johnson’s work as Black Adam. “DJ’s so good as Black Adam, the entire cast is so good, but DJ was born to play this guy, and you can just see him having so much fun playing this force of nature that just changes the landscape of the DC universe,” Garcia explained. “It was awesome, man. I’m really excited. I think you’re going to really dig it.”
FanDome not only gave fans looks at Johnson’s Black Adam but also some glimpses of Justice Society of America characters. Aldis Hodge checks in as Hawkman. Pierce Brosnan is there as Dr. Fate. Noah Centineo joins at Atom Smasher. Is there anyone else joining the film? Maybe. “It’s all secret,” Garcia said. “I’m not letting any of that out.” He will, however, shout out Brosnan’s efforts as a DC Comics legend. “I’ve got to tell you, it’s just, he’s Pierce Brosnan,” Garcia said. “Really, it’s special, man. He just elevated the entire thing as Dr. Fate. And I think fans… I think he’s the perfect casting for it.”
For now, Garcia is also focused on the release of Netflix’s Red Notice which stars Johnson with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more Black Adam updates and insights from Garcia’s new Netflix blockbuster. Are you excited to see Black Adam? Drop your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on instagram. Black Adam is set to be released on July 29, 2022.
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
