Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam Set Photo Promises a Power Shift in the DC Universe

Dwayne Johnson uncloaks the "most unstoppable force in the DC Universe" in a new look at Black Adam. Taking to Instagram to tease a second peek at his black-suited superhuman who's not a superhero, Johnson says his slave-turned-god makes a dramatic shift to the DC Extended Universe home to powerhouses like Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Aquaman (Jason Momoa). Enslaved for 5,000 years in the land of Kahndaq, the finally freed Teth-Adam (Johnson) is empowered by the same ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who endows teen Billy Batson (Asher Angel) with the magical ability to transform into an adult-sized superhero (Zachary Levi) in Shazam!

"If you know the comic book mythology, then you know where his pain comes from," Johnson wrote when revealing a photo of a cloaked Black Adam on Instagram. "His rage. His wife and children killed. His people brutally enslaved. He is not a superhero, but rather a champion. Of the poor and beaten down. Of the people. And he is the most unstoppable force in the DC UNIVERSE."

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In an update from the Georgia set of Black Adam, Johnson writes production is "coming along great" in the DC Films effort produced by Johnson and his Seven Bucks Production.

"I'm very pleased with the movie we're making," Johnson wrote. "Black Adam's mythology, ethics and actions no doubt will create a new paradigm in the world of superheroes, villains & antiheroes. The power will shift. The line will blur. From a slave to a God."

Johnson previously narrated Black Adam's anguished history in a teaser released during last summer's virtual DC FanDome event, describing the anti-hero as a "ruthless keeper of justice."

"5,000 years ago, Kahndaq was a melting pot of magic and powers. Most of us had nothing except the chains around our necks. Kahndaq needed a hero. Instead, they got me," Johnson's Teth-Adam says in the teaser. "I did what needed to be done… and they imprisoned me for it. Now, 5000 years later, I'm free. And I give you my word — no one will ever stop me again."

Black Adam is "the judge, the jury, and the executioner, and he believes in an eye for an eye," Johnson said at FanDome. "He will always do everything he can to protect his people, more so protect his family." That means taking on the Justice Society of America, consisting of superheroes Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan).

"The superheroes have to exhibit a little bit of restraint when it comes to taking care of the bad guys, if you will, or taking care of the people who are opposite them, who are opposing them who are in their way," Johnson said at the time. "But this idea that you could take all of Black Adam's powers, and he does not practice restraint. That makes for a really powerful combination, and one that's explosive one that's very dangerous, and one that is very likable — to me, at least."

Warner Bros. Pictures releases Black Adam in theaters on July 29, 2022.