Dwayne Johnson Battles The Justice Society In New ‘Black Adam’ Trailer

Warner Bros. Discovery just dropped a second trailer for Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. The key hook this time around is positioning its title character as a glorified villain (or at least anti-hero) being hunted by the Justice Society of America. Yes, this New Line Cinema flick, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, The Commuter, Jungle Cruise), is a backdoor pilot of sorts for the JSA. Aldis Hodge plays Hawkman, Noah Centineo (briefly the online it-boy thanks to a few Netflix rom-coms) plays Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell is Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia!, The Foreigner, The Thomas Crown Affair, etc.) plays Doctor Fate. Will these four add up to an added value element? Probably, and the notion of stalwart heroes trying to take down the title character is an interesting one, even if we know that Black Adam will probably break good by the end.

Black Adam is the first Marvel/DC comic book superhero movie where the star is bigger than the marquee character since Wesley Snipes’ Blade in the summer of 1998. Movie stars have been playing superhero dress-up at least since Michael Keaton growled “I am Batman” in June of 1989. The actors donning the costumes have usually been less famous than the characters they played. That’s been Johnson’s usual franchise/IP game, finding franchises like Rampage, Baywatch or Jumanji where he is bigger (or at least more present-tense popular) than the IP. The closest we’ve seen is arguably Ben Affleck playing the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman, which is a big reason that film out-earned Man of Steel ($873 million versus $668 million) in March/April of 2016. I’m not expecting any such bounties here, because Black Adam isn’t nearly as well-known as the Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman trio from Dawn of Justice.

There’s a pretty strong demographic overlap among those showing up to a new DC Films flick and those showing up for a Johnson fantasy. If the film was budgeted like a New Line flick and/or most Dwayne Johnson star vehicles, it wouldn’t have to break records to break even. Jungle Cruise cost $200 million, but Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Skyscraper, Rampage, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and San Andreas cost $90-$120 million. New Line’s Shazam got plenty of bang for its buck at $90-$100 million. Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($110 million) and Deadpool 2 ($110 million) shows that you don’t have to break the bank to please the crowds. Whatever the expectations are for this one, it’s the first four-quadrant tentpole since Thor: Love and Thunder last July; if it’s budgeted like Shazam then it need only be as successful as Shazam.

Black Adam opens October 21, where it will be seen as a skewed test for whatever David Zaslov has planned for the DC Comics brand. If it hits big, it could cement the notion of Shazam and Black Adam forming their own mini DC Films continuity. If that happens, I’ve been saying for a year that they should keep Walter Hamada in his current job. Covid kneecapped what was up-to-then a winning run for the DC movie properties. Even Wonder Woman 1984 would have been a solid global hit under non-Covid circumstances. Why listen to the strong reviews and/or strong box office for Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, The Batman) when you can let the narrative be shaped by the same folks who convinced AT&T and Warner Bros. that making a Snyder Cut of Justice League would appease that fanbase?