DC FanDome: Why did Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' film take so long to get the green signal?
'Black Adam' has had to put up with numerous obstacles for several years before finally getting a release date. The DC supervillain had been stuck in limbo for a long time and was close to appearing in another film or getting his own solo spin-off, but something or the other happened and it had to be delayed. The DC's Extended Universe, which began with 2013's 'Man Of Steel', has had a tough time.
While 'Wonder Woman' did superbly well in 2017, other films like 'Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice' and the 'Justice League' tanked, which led to a change in plans for the studio. Ezra Miller's solo 'Flash' film was stalled and a 'Justice League 2' never reached fruition. However, there's a promise of revival that came with 'Birds Of Prey' and the upcoming 'Wonder Woman 1984', and 'Aquaman 2'. 'The Flash' is finally moving forward as well.
'Black Adam' is the next in this slew of DCEU films, and it isn't the first to face hindrances in development. However, this film stands apart as it has been in talks for over a decade. The problem wasn't with finding the lead actor, in fact, Dwayne Johnson was rooting for the character since 2007 when New Line Cinema was working on a live-action Shazam! film that would have introduced Black Adam.
Peter Sinegal was directing the film, and it was apparently ready to enter production but was shelved in 2009, just when the onslaught of superhero films began. The process to resurrect the project began again after 'Man Of Steel', and was waiting to be introduced in 'Shazam'. There was another change of plans, and it was revealed that in 2017, Black Adam would get his own film and didn't need to appear in 'Shazam'.
In June 2019, Collet-Serra was confirmed as director, and Johnson revealed that Black Adam would start filming in July 2020. Early, this year, it was announced that Noah Centineo was roped in for the character of Atom Smasher. However, no one foresaw a global pandemic, and Covid-19 threw the spanner in the works. So, as of now, the principal photography of the film will begin next year, and if...all goes well, it will release on December 22, 2021.
Tune into DC FanDome on August 22 and see if the 'Black Adam' panel has some new information to give us!