It’s been 15 years since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson began talking about playing DC Comics character Black Adam, and it’s all been leading up to this. Today, finally, the Rock is a superhero—or at least a person with superpowers. Because in the first trailer for Black Adam, you’ll realize this is not your typical superhero movie.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam is currently scheduled to open on October 21, and in this first teaser trailer, you’ll meet the man in black himself as well as a slew of other heroes. Those are members of Justice Society of America, which includes Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan). How do they fit into the movie? Watch the trailer and then keep reading.
“There are a couple of things we wanted to convey [with that trailer],” producer Hiram Garcia told io9 at a recent press event. “One, that the movie’s fun. The movie’s big. Two, I think that when you see Black Adam, you realize that we’re honoring the comic book version of Black Adam. He doesn’t pull his punches. He can be judge, jury, and executioner. And his approach to how he does things is very much opposite of what typical heroes would do.”
That leads into why this film, the origin story of this ultra powerful anti-hero, has the Justice Society of America in it. “When Black Adam arrives, when a person at that power level comes on the scene, it’s the type of thing that gets the entire planet to notice,” Garcia said. “So naturally, there are going to be people who investigate the arrival of someone like that. And that’s the kind of energy that brings these two together. He’s a threat and they’re not used to having someone like that, who’s a live wire, that powerful, and so a team needs to go investigate.”
Fans will notice, though, that despite hearing about Black Adam’s origins, his family, and the fact that he kills people, we don’t learn much about the story of the film itself. Garcia said that was very much on purpose. “It’s a tease,” he said. “You get a little bit in terms of some of his motivation. You hear what happened to him and ultimately was driving him. But the idea was, this is a bit more of a teaser. And then as more comes out, you guys will get a little bit more of the story.”
Black Adam is in theaters October 21, and we’ll have more soon from the man himself, Dwayne Johnson, on how this film will start a new era in the DC Universe.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
