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Dwayne Johnson is NOT in DC's Shazam as Black Adam

Photo credit: SaturdayNightLive / Twitter
Photo credit: SaturdayNightLive / Twitter

From Digital Spy

DC Comics fans are going to have to wait a while to see Shazam and his arch-nemesis Black Adam clash on the big screen.

On the heels of Warner Bros fast-tracking Shazam as the next DCEU movie to go before the cameras, there's now official word that Dwayne Johnson will no longer appear in the film as Black Adam.

"We haven't announced any casting yet [for Shazam]," DC creative chief Geoff Johns told Yahoo Movies at Comic-Con. "But Dwayne isn't going to be in this movie. He's still doing Black Adam, but he won't be in Shazam!"

Photo credit: DC Comics
Photo credit: DC Comics

(Black Adam)

Dwayne has been quietly developing a Black Adam solo movie as a way to introduce the fallen god into the DC Extended Universe, presumably setting up more appearances in the future.

If that turns out to be the case, there's still every chance that Shazam and Black Adam will one day cross paths on the big screen.

The absence of Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam solo film opens up the door to one of the more under-appreciated rogues' galleries in comics history, with the mad scientist Dr Sivana or the tiny-but-powerful Mr Mind's Monster Society of Evil as potential options.

When a Shazam movie was first planned, Dwayne Johnson was given his choice of playing either the hero or his greatest foe. In an interview with Digital Spy, the actor explained why he went with Black Adam.

Photo credit: DC Comics
Photo credit: DC Comics

"I felt ultimately – and this is with all due respect to Shazam and Billy Batson – what made me choose Black Adam is that I inherently just felt Black Adam was more interesting," he said. "I felt like there were more layers to Black Adam starting out as a slave and then ultimately becoming the anti-hero who we enjoy today.

"I've always said that's got to be earned. I've always felt with the background and the layers that he has, he's just more interesting."

The confirmation that Dwayne Johnson is no longer involved with Shazam comes on the heels of rumours that Ben Affleck may be leaving his role as Batman entirely following the release of Justice League.


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