DC taps Undateable creator Adam Sztykiel to pen Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

According to The Tracking Board, who exclusively broke the news, Adam Sztykiel, the creator of the NBC sitcom Undateable, is currently in negotiations with New Line and DC Entertainment to write the script for DC's BLACK ADAM starring Dwayne Johnson.

Produced by Johnson and Hiram Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions, and Beau Flynn of the Flynn Picture Company, BLACK ADAM still has no director attached to the project at this time. According to DCWikia.com: Black Adam is a super-villain and sometimes anti-hero originally written as the evil counterpart to Captain Marvel, an ancient Egyptian prince who was given incredible powers by the wizard Shazam and survived into the modern era. His legacy would eventually expand to include the Black Marvel Family involving his wife Isis and her brother Osiris protecting their native land of Kahndaq. He has been a member of the Justice Society, Injustice Society, Secret Society of Super-Villains, Suicide Squad and Monster Society of Evil. Black Adam was created by Otto Binder and C.C. Beck, first appearing in Marvel Family #1 (1945).

One thing we do know for certain about DC's forthcoming superhero flick is that Dwayne Johnson has been positively pumped about bringing the Black Adam character to screen for several years running, now. Back before The Rock could smell what DC Entertainment was cooking, Black Adam was posied to serve as the central antagonist in SHAZAM! – which has recently cast CHUCK's Zachary Levi as the film's super powered hero. Now, both characters will receive their own dedicated films, with both being developed alongside one another.

In the past, Sztykiel has written such films for New Line as WE'RE THE MILLERS 2, SPY GUYS, DUE DATE, and MADE OF HONOR. I'm not exactly sure how that pedigree is going to help Sztykiel pen a larger-than-life super villain action film, but I'm more than willing to give him a shot.

While BLACK ADAM has no official release date at this time, SHAZAM! is on schedule to arrive in theaters on April 5, 2019.