We continue inching ever closer to the day that Dwayne Johnson is officially a superhero, as a full trailer forBlack Adam, his DC anti-hero project, dropped yesterday. It looks…fine. It kind of feels like this trailer is cutting around something - unfinished effects, maybe, or a plot point they don’t want to give up - and the result is a sort of bland, vague introduction to Black Adam. That, or we have finally reached saturation and superhero movies all look the same now. We are told Adam was a slave back in the day, who was killed, and whose son sacrificed himself to bring his dad back as a god, which has shades ofGladiatorand theGod of Warvideo games. And we’re told that now Adam “kneels for no one”. We also find out that heroes don’t kill people, which apparently no one ever told Bruce Wayne. And we learn that Black Adam DOES kill people, ipso facto, he is not a hero. (But he’s also played by The Rock, so he will be heroic eventually. I just do not think Johnson has it in him, at this point, to play a real villain.)
The trailer also shows us Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate, and Atom Smasher—the big guy who looks, unfortunately, almost exactly like Scott Lang as Giant Man—and Hawkman in their costumes. They are played by Noah Centineo and Aldis Hodge, respectively, but the actors are not showcased here, just their super suits (we do hear Hodge’s voice in narration). Also not pictured: Marwan Kenzari, aka#HotJafar. He is also one of the stars ofThe Old Guard, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank reader Caitlin for sharing with me the news thatThe Old Guard 2is filming THIS SUMMER. (So now it’s justCrazy Rich Asiansstruggling to get its sequel off the ground, though there is anAstrid-centric spin-offcoming.) Marwan Kenzari’s character has yet to be named, which either means he’s playing someone important they’re holding back, or he’s a glorified extra. Really hoping it’s the former, we could use more #HotJafar in the world.
