A recent report hailing from the Observer claims that Warner Bros. and New Line are potentially interested in smelling what director Jaume Collet-Serra (ORPHAN, UKNOWN) would cook up for Dwayne Johnson's long-gestating superhero feature, BLACK ADAM. As per a source close to the film's production, Collet-Serra is said to be the top choice to helm the villain-centric adventure. Word of Collet-Serra's positioning for BLACK ADAM comes after the Spanish filmmaker wrapped production on Disney's JUNGLE CRUISE, a film based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles, but with a supernatural element. With a screenplay penned by Glenn Ficarra, Michael Green, and John Requa, JUNGLE CRUISE stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jesse Plemons, and Jack Whitehall, among others.
Back when New Line and Warners were readying their family-friendly superhero feature, SHAZAM!, Johnson had boarded the project to help develop and produce. Originally, Johnson was meant to co-star in the film as the anti-hero Black Adam, but as production continued, plans to include Black Adam were scrapped in favor of giving the character his own solo experience on the big screen.
As the Observer mentions, Johnson presented fans with an update on his SHAZAM! involvement back in April, saying that he was no longer going to appear in the film.
“This project…we had some challenges and we took a risk,” Johnson informed his bajillion Instagram followers. “As we were developing this a few years ago, the challenges and the struggles that we were having and that was gnawing at my gut [was] that we were trying to tell two origin stories in one script…. The challenges were, as you guys can imagine, you’re trying to tell two very big origin stories in the world of comic books of this DC Universe—two very important characters—trying to tell both their origin stories in one script. I didn’t think it was working.”
You can see Johnson's original post below:
Created by Otto Binder and C.C. Beck in 1945 for Fawcett Comics, Black Adam's real name is Teth-Adam. Introduced as a predecessor to Billy Batson, Black Adam hailed from ancient Egypt circa 1200 B.C. and was granted his powers by the wizard Shazam. In time, Black Adam became drunk on his newfound abilities and was forced into exile by Shazam himself. After many years, Black Adam escaped his incarceration, and sought vengeance on the new hero imbued with Shazam's power, Captain Marvel (aka Shazam). As time ticked on, Black Adam was re-introduced to the comics fold by DC Comics writers Jerry Ordway, Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer. Since that time, Black Adam has straddled the role of both hero and villain, as he continues to find his place among the publishing arm's other do-gooders and ne're do wells.
What do you think about the possibility of Jaume Collet-Serra stepping up to helm BLACK ADAM? It's my thought that his existing friendship with Dwayne Johson will serve the project well, and with horror-centric like ORPHAN and THE SHALLOWS to his name, it could be that BLACK ADAM will arrive as the yin to SHAZAM!'s yang as part of the DCEU. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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