The DC Extended Universe has already taken a couple of dips into the antihero waters with Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. However, it faces perhaps its biggest challenge in Black Adam, with Dwayne Johnson playing the titular supervillain who is looking to clear up his act in an increasingly dark world.

With news about where the movie will Johnson's titular antihero trickling out as its release date nears, let's look at all of the information released so far about Black Adam.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated on Sept. 17, 2021, to add comments by actor Pierce Brosnan about Black Adam's focus.

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Black Adam's Story

Black Adam debuted in Fawcett's initial production run of Captain Marvel comics as an ancient Egyptian named Teth-Adam who was chosen to be the wizard Shazam's successor but was corrupted by the vastness of the powers he was given. He was initially sealed away for thousands of years before being resurrected and becoming one of Captain Marvel's biggest enemies.

Johnson's anti-hero was initially supposed to be introduced in the 2019 film Shazam!, but during the pre-production process, the studio chose to spin Black Adam off into its own movie. Johnson has vowed, though, that the two characters will cross paths in a future film. Aside from the titular character, Black Adam will also involve the Justice Society of America, the predecessor -- and subsequently the Earth-Two version -- of the Justice League. It was confirmed at DC FanDome that repping the JSA will be Atom Smasher, aka Al Rothstein: Hawkman, aka Carter Hall; Cyclone, aka Maxine Hunkel; and Doctor Fate, with Hawkgirl scrapped from the roster. Johnson's character will also reportedly get a love interest in the form of his wife Adrianna Tomaz.

Actor Pierce Brosnan, who plays Doctor Fate/Kent Nelson in the film, said in a September interview that Black Adam is an ensemble film. "You have Dwayne [Johnson], who's at the pinnacle of his fame and fortune and success and popularity," Brosnan said. "He is magnificent as Black Adam. We are the Justice Society and there's four of us, so we became a strong quartet of actors."

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Black Adam's Filming

Following the decision to separate Black Adam into his own film, the project lay in limbo while the studio searched for a proper director and writer. Once they were found, filming was set to begin in summer 2020. However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic halted production on sets all across the world, including Black Adam.

In April 2021, Johnson announced that Black Adam had begun filming. "History in the making, extremely excited and what a humbling moment to share with you," he shared. "Officially kicking off day one of filming our Black Adam." Production on the project ran through June, with Johnson explaining they had three weeks remaining towards the end of the month.

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Black Adam's Cast and Crew

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Black Adam is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, best known for his work on a number of horror movies (House of Wax, Orphan), action thrillers (Non-Stop, The Commuter) and the upcoming Jungle Cruise, which also stars Johnson. Penning the script is Adam Sztykiel, who created the TV show Undateable and wrote the screenplays for Rampage, Scoob! and the upcoming We're the Millers 2.

Dwayne Johnson will play the title character of Black Adam. The former wrestler has been attached to the project since 2014, back when the character was still set to be part of a Shazam film. Noah Centineo, known for his roles in various Netflix movies, will play Atom Smasher, who has served as both a close friend and enemy to Black Adam. Aldis Hodge will play Hawkman, while Doctor Fate will be played by Pierce Brosnan and Quintessa Swindell portrays Cyclone. Additionally, Sarah Shahi has been cast in an undisclosed role, though her research on social media seems to hint at her playing Isis. Marwan Kenzari, who played Jafar in Disney's live-action Aladdin, Young Rock's Uli Latukefu and comedian Mo Amer are also attached to the project in mystery roles.

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Black Adam's Release Date

Black Adam was initially scheduled to release on December 22, 2021. However, with production delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film pushed back its release date. Looking at a new release window, the film tried out a bit of viral marketing by taking over a theatrical display in Times Square to announce the new date of July 29, 2022.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam stars Dwayne Johnson, Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge, Quintessa Swindell, Pierce Brosnan, Marwan Kenzari and Sarah Shahi. The film is scheduled to premiere on July 29, 2022.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

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