Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra recently explained why the DC Extended Universe film isn't an origin story.

Collet-Serra discussed how Black Adam breaks away from the established superhero movie template in an interview with Vanity Fair. "It’s not your typical superhero movie where a guy wants to be a superhero and gets the powers, and then you spend 50 minutes trying to figure out how the powers work," he said. "This is a movie where you introduce Black Adam right away, and then throughout the movie you slowly peel back the onion and reveal what happened."

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In the same interview, Collet-Serra admitted he'd never heard of Black Adam before star Dwayne Johnson approached him about directing the project. The filmmaker added that his lack of familiarity with the DC villain turned anti-hero gave him a lot to think about before he ultimately signed on to helm the movie. Collet-Serra being a newcomer to the Black Adam mythos also apparently helped shape the film's narrative, mirroring his own journey of discovery regarding the character's history and motivations.

How Black Adam Impacts the Future of the DCEU

Johnson reportedly played a major role in determining how Black Adam's backstory will be portrayed on screen, too. The star previously revealed that he personally vetoed plans to recount the origins of both Black Adam and his comic book rival Shazam in the same movie, after arguing that this approach wouldn't do either icon justice. "When we all read the script, I immediately felt like, 'We have to separate these two movies. We have to honor Shazam! and that origin story and what that is and what that can be for the fans and then we also have to tell our story, too, as well,'" Johnson said.

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While Black Adam's connection to the Shazam! franchise ties it strongly to the DCEU's past, a new report indicates the upcoming blockbuster will reshape the shared universe's future, too. Insiders who attended a recent test screening of the film claim that it now includes a post-credits scene that drastically alters Black Adam's place within the DCEU, although exactly how it does so is currently unclear.

This report tracks with comments by producer Hiram Garcia, who previously insisted that Black Adam will broaden the overall scope of the DCEU. "The excitement with Black Adam is that we're using him to expand the DC Universe. I think, through him as our breaking point, we get to now add in the JSA and who knows what other characters come in," he said.

Black Adam arrives in theaters on Oct. 21.

Source: Vanity Fair