Dwayne Johnson shares 'Black Adam' animation video as he kicks off training for the eponymous role
Dwayne Johnson has announced that he is "kickin' off 2020 training" for his upcoming role as the DC Comics supervillain Black Adam in the movie of the same name set to release in December 2021. Johnson has said the shooting for the same will commence this summer.
In his first post on Instagram, he shared an animation video featuring the movie's poster in which the menacing villain is hovering mid-air, before saying "Shazam" and shooting off into the sky. Johnson captioned the post, writing, "So it begins. Kickin’ off 2020 training extremely hard for my upcoming role as BLACK ADAM. This one’s in my blood."
He also added, "The hierarchy of power in the #DCUniverse is about to change. #NewEra #BlackAdam. Shooting begins this summer." Johnson had long been campaigning to play the role and even revealed in an interview with ComicBook.com that the Justice Society of America will be introduced in the film.
With the success of 2019's 'Shazam!', it was inevitable that production would move forward with 'Black Adam'. Black Adam, the DC supervillain is a recurring villain of Shazam (played by Zachary Levi in the 2019 movie) in the comics.
'Black Adam' producer Hiram Garcia told ComicBook.com that the character's journey as both hero and villain will be respected in the film. He said, "He was created as a villain. And through the love of the fans and through some great writers and storytellers, he evolved into an antihero."
He continued, "But ultimately this is a guy who, he does have a moral compass, as skewed as it may be. And ultimately he is a guy that everything has always been driven by his family and what happens to them and he is never opposed to unleashing hell when you cross him. So, I think when you add in those elements of that DNA, those are things we're very aware of."
Johnson also shared further pictures showing him working out and captioned the posts, writing, "New Era".