After a much-publicized flop at the box office, Black Adam faces more criticism in the form of some stinging remarks by a star of the original Blade film.
Speaking with Variety, Stephen Dorff, who played the villainous Deacon Frost in Blade, made his disdain for certain movies based on comic books clear. When asked if he'd star in a contemporary comic book film, Dorff said it would need to resemble one of the few he liked, such as Christopher Nolan's Academy Award-winning The Dark Knight. Though he mainly targeted his criticism at Marvel films, he saved a special barb for Black Adam, which featured in the DC Universe. "All this other garbage is just embarrassing, you know what I mean?" he said. "I mean, God bless them, they’re making a bunch of money, but their movies suck [laughs]. And nobody’s going to remember them. Nobody’s remembering Black Adam at the end of the day. I didn’t even see that movie, it looked so bad."
Dorff also slammed the Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming version of Blade, mocking the reboot of the 1998 original film for losing its initial director Bassim Tariq two months into production. Dorff previously expressed his dislike for the MCU's live-action movies in 2021, claiming Black Widow looked more like a video game than a film, though he credited Marvel's actors for doing the best they could with the material.
Black Adam's Troubled Reception
Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam has endured a rocky road since its release last October. The film initially enjoyed good press, primarily because of the surprise cameo of Henry Cavill in the post-credits scene, making his long-awaited return as Superman. However, Cavill's comeback was short-lived, as he was ousted from the role amid mass restructuring at DC Studios under co-leaders James Gunn and Peter Safran. Johnson reportedly angered some Warner Bros. executives over his hyping of Cavill's cameo, as well as pitching multi-year plans for the Black Adam film series directly to CEO David Zaslav.
Despite generating $393 million at the global box office, Black Adam was a considerable loss for DC given its steep budget, and its reviews were mixed. Last December, Johnson announced Black Adam was no longer a part of the DCU after talks with Gunn, though both expressed hope for future collaborations.
Aside from the Blade film series, Dorff's Hollywood career has included the starring role of Richard West in the HBO crime drama series, True Detective. He also featured in films such as World Trade Center, The Debt and Paradise City, alongside Bruce Willis. His next scheduled film is the Nicholas Maggio-helmed action project American Metal, which also features John Travolta, Ashley Benson and Kevin Dillon. American Metal is expected to premiere sometime this year.
Black Adam is streaming now on HBO Max.
Source: Variety