Here’s Your First Glimpse of The Rock as Black Adam

Not only do we get our first look at Dwayne Johnson as the DC superhero Black Adam, but we’ve also got a release date for the film, too. And who better to share the news than the Rock himself, who gave us the image of concept art (designed by Jim Lee and Bosslogic) and Black Adam‘s release date via Instagram.

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The Man in Black ⚡️ Like most kids growing up, I dreamed about being a superhero. Having cool superpowers, fighting for what’s right and always protecting the people. It all changed for me, when I was 10yrs old and was first introduced to the greatest superhero of all time – SUPERMAN. As a kid, Superman was the hero I always wanted to be. But, a few years into my fantasy, I realized that Superman was the hero, I could never be. I was too rebellious. Too rambunctious. Too resistant to convention and authority. Despite my troubles, I was still a good kid with a good heart – I just liked to do things my way. Now, years later as a man, with the same DNA I had as a kid – my superhero dreams have come true. I’m honored to join the iconic #DCUniverse and it’s a true pleasure to become, BLACK ADAM. BLACK ADAM is blessed by magic with the powers equal to SUPERMAN, but the difference is he doesn’t toe the mark or walk the line. He’s a rebellious, one of a kind superhero, who’ll always do what’s right for the people – but he does it his way. Truth and justice – the BLACK ADAM way. This role is unlike any other I’ve ever played in my career and I’m grateful to the bone we’ll all go on this journey together. BLACK ADAM 12.22.21 ⚡️ Huge thank you to my friends, @jimlee and @bosslogic for this first time ever bad ass collaboration.

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Nov 14, 2019 at 9:06am PST

Warner Bros. has been on a hot streak of late. Wonder Woman was the beloved, long-awaited standalone film for the character, and director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot nailed it (Wonder Woman 1984 is due next June). Ditto James Wan’s Aquaman, another smash hit with a huge star in Jason Momoa.  Shazam! was a delightful introduction to a new kind of superhero (one who’s actually a 15-year old foster kid), and Joker is a cultural phenomenon that has done insanely good business at the box office, too. Then you’ve got the hotly anticipated upcoming Birds of Prey, giving Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn center stage, along with a bevy of Gotham’s toughest women. So yes, things have been good in the DC world. And it looks like they’re about to get better.

When you’ve megawatt star Dwayne Johnson on deck, things are looking mighty bright for the DC extended universe. If the end result of how Johnson looks as Black Adam is anything like this concept art, that would be fairly awesome. The Rock was born to play a superhero. You could argue he’s been playing variations on the theme in many films.

According to Shazam star Zachary Levi, this is all building to a clash between Shazam! and Black Adam. With a star of Johnson’s caliber, he needs his own stand-alone movie to start. Then, once that work is done (and Shazam 2 has been released), if all goes well, the showdown between the two potent, entirely different superheroes should be electric.

Black Adam comes from director Jaume Collet-Serra (who just shot Johnson and Emily Blunt in Jungle Cruise), and now we know that Black Adam hits theaters on December 22, 2021.

Featured image: The Rock as Black Adam. Courtesy of Bosslogic and Jim Lee.