After several years of production, everything is finally ready for the imminent arrival of Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, to the DC Cinematic Universe. For years, the popular actor was interested in landing there with a project anchored in the superhero genre, an area that always interested him and that motivated him to look for a title tailored to him.

In Black Adam, he will play an iconic DC villain who, in turn, must fight one of the great teams of that publisher, who will also make his debut on the big screen.

In the first trailer for the feature film, The Rock steps into the shoes of Black Adam, a dangerous warrior who, like Shazam, received his powers from ancient Egyptian deities. But in his time, he was subdued due to his abilities and punished with a life marked by sacrifice. After a long period of sleep, Adam is reborn in the modern world and corrupted by a power that places him far above humans, he decides to take control and lead humanity towards what he considers a prosperous destiny. Of course, to achieve that goal, he will not hesitate to kill his rivals.

Facing the fearsome threat posed by Black Adam, the Justice Society of America makes its appearance. Made up of powerful superheroes, including Hawkman ( Aldis Hodge ), Dr. Fate ( Pierce Brosnan ), Atom Smasher ( Noah Centineo ), and Cyclone ( Quintessa Swindell ). In this way, the film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra will present not only a supervillain who promises to have a long life in the DC cinematic universe but also a team of emblem superheroes of the publisher, a group that has older than the Justice League itself.

Who’s who in the new movie

Black Adam: Confident in his dark vision of the world, he begins a war against humanity that leaves numerous victims behind his back. For The Rock, playing the supervillain is one of the biggest challenges of his career, and this was a title he followed closely for several years.

In an interview, Johnson confessed: “I think I was born for this character. And this is a project that was with me for about ten years. Superheroes live by a code of ethics and integrity. But with Black Adam, depending on how you look at him, he can be a hero, an antihero, or a villain.”Finally, he explained why Adam should be feared and what differentiates him from other figures in the house: “In the traditional DC universe, if you do something wrong you know that Batman or Superman are going to look for you, but with Black Adam, you know that you are going to die. It’s that simple. And I think this character is going to pose a real dilemma in the superhero genre.”

Dr. Fate: Just as the Marvel universe has Doctor Strange, DC has Dr. Fate, a powerful sorcerer, capable of manipulating mystical energies (in reality, Fate debuted in the comics 20 years before Stephen Strange). Beneath the case, he is Kent Nelson, an explorer who gained his powers after finding the tomb of an ancient wizard named Nabu. In this way, Nelson obtains supernatural abilities, linked to magic. In the framework of a note, Pierce Brosnan referred to this hero and the film: “I will be part of the Justice Society of America, which will have four members. The script is very good, and it has a very good rhythm. If you have three great moments in history, that lead to grab your heart, then you are on the right track. And in a very specific way, Black Adam has that”.

The Hawkman: One of DC’s best-known heroes, Cartel Hall is an archaeologist, who is the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince. Wearing a golden suit and enormous wings, Hall fights in defense of Earth, as one of the most important members of the Justice Society of America.

Atom Smasher – Actor Noah Centineo steps into the shoes of another popular DC hero. The son of a dangerous villain, Al Rothstein decides to balance the scales by fighting alongside Earth’s heroes. For that reason, he adopts the name Atom Smasher and joins the Justice Society of America. His power consists of manipulating his molecular structure at will, being able to considerably increase his size. In the comics, Atom Smasher and Black Adam must make common causes on several occasions, and although there is great mistrust between the two, the time has made their unexpected allies.

Cyclone – This heroine is the granddaughter of Red Tornado. In the film, Cyclone is played by Quintessa Swindell, who first gained recognition scoring Tabitha in Trinkets. Like her grandfather, Cyclone can manipulate the wind, being able to generate hurricanes and similar weather phenomena.

The future of the franchise

There is no doubt that DC has high hopes for this group of characters, who will debut in Black Adam. Both the villain of the story and the team of heroes have great importance in the comics, and their paths can be divided into different film projects. Black Adam will likely cross paths with Shazam, the hero played by Zachary Levi and Asher Angel. Some versions ensure that the villain could even face Wonder Woman ( Gal Gadot ), or with a possible return of Henry Cavill as Superman.

As for the Justice Society of America, the group has a very long history in comics, going back more than eighty years. Created in 1940 by the screenwriter Gardner Fox, the team went through innumerable adventures, starring in a memorable stage at the beginning of the 21st century that considerably increased its popularity.

In this way, Black Adam becomes DC’s great cinematographic bet this year, which, if it has the expected success, can become the next great superhero franchise.