Black Adam: Dwayne Johnson Welcomes Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone

The DC Films universe is set to get some epic additions in the next few years, as new films introduce some highly-anticipated characters onto the big screen. A handful of them are set to arrive in Black Adam, the long-awaited film that will see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson embodying the superpowered antihero. Fans have been eager to see who will join Johnson in the film, especially after confirmation that the project will introduce the Justice Society of America. On Monday, fans got their latest casting update, as Quintessa Swindell was cast as Maxine Hunkel/Cyclone in the upcoming film. Shortly after the casting was first announced, Johnson went to Twitter to confirm the news, officially welcoming Swindell to the film and saying that he “can’t wait to work with them.”

Swindell, who is nonbinary, is best known for their starring role on Netflix’s Trinkets, as well as appearances in an episode of HBO’s Euphoria and the upcoming movie Voyagers. They will be playing Maxine, the granddaughter of Ma Hunkel, who was the first Red Tornado and an unofficial member of the Justice Society. After being kidnapped and experimented on as a kid, Maxine realizes as a young adult that she has the ability to manipulate wind and sound waves, which ultimately gets her recruited into the JSA.

Black Adam will mark Cyclone’s first debut into another medium. The Hunkel family as a whole has been underrepresented in DC’s live-action outputs, outside of Ma Hunkel briefly appearing in Smallville, and her helmet appearing in the background of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Joining Swindell and Johnson in the film are Aldis Hodge (Underground, The Invisible Man) as Hawkman, Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I Love Before, Charlie’s Angels) as Atom Smasher, and Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest, The L Word), who is rumored to be playing Adrianna Tomaz.

“Like most kids growing up, I dreamed about being a superhero,” Johnson previously said of the film. “As a kid, Superman was the hero I always wanted to be. But, a few years into my fantasy, I realized that Superman was the hero, I could never be. I was too rebellious. Too rambunctious. Too resistant to convention and authority.”

“Despite my troubles, I was still a good kid with a good heart – I just liked to do things my way. Now, years later as a man, with the same DNA I had as a kid – my superhero dreams have come true. I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people – but he does it his way. Truth and justice – the BLACK ADAM way.”

Are you excited to see Swindell play Cyclone in Black Adam? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!