Shazam

[LiquidShaDow]

After months of teasing fans, the Rock confirms he's in the Shazam movie...but not necessarily as the hero. UPDATED...

We love Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but this is starting to get a little ridiculous. After teasing fans for months (and months) about a potential DC Comics superhero movie role, with his most recent hints pointing squarely at a Shazam movie, the Rock has finally come clean. Sorta.

On the one hand, he appears to have confirmed once and for all that there's a Shazam movie in the works at Warner Bros. On the other hand, his role is still unclear. At a press conference in Mexico City (via the AP), the Rock says (get it?) that he "is a fan of anti-heroes" (imagine that!) and has yet to decide on whether he will play the title role or his nemesis, Black Adam, a character he has expressed a fondness for. There is no direct quote on this from the AP, unfortunately, but they say he described Black Adam as "one of his favorite DC characters."

So, it looks like this image he tweeted of Superman and Shazam taking on Black Adam back around SDCC wasn't just Rock being ambiguous...he really could be either character! This isn't the first time a Shazam movie has been in development, and Mr. Johnson's name had come up in discussions about Black Adam several years ago, as well.

However, you may also consider this final confirmation that there is a Shazam movie in the works at Warner Bros. No word on whether the character will be involved in the Justice League movie or make a cameo in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

"I am putting my heart and soul and my bones into this role," he said. Yes, but WHICH role, Rock?

Thanks to JoBlo for pointing us at the La Nacion article with Mr. Johnson's quotes.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Confirms Shazam Movie Role

 

[Jerry007]

From variety.com:

Though Dwayne Johnson hasn’t been shy about teasing his potential involvement in New Line Cinema’s “Shazam” movie, the superhero comicbook pic now looks closer to achieving lift-off.

Sources tell Variety that Darren Lemke is set to write the script with Johnson attached to star. Johnson will play Black Adam, who in recent issues of the DC comicbook, is more of an anti-hero trying to clear his name than a villain.

Johnson and Hiram Garcia are also producing.

“We Love Dwayne and have had nothing but success with him over the years,” said Toby Emmerich, President and COO of New Line. “When I look at Dwayne both off screen and on screen, he is such a larger than life character and it just made perfect sense to me that we put him in a DC comic movie. You look at these comic book characters and they have this certain swag and charisma that Dwayne carries with him where ever he is so that’s why this always made sense.”

Johnson has been teasing the idea of playing Shazam or Black Adam for sometime now on his social media sites, and some thought Warners might introduce him as Shazam at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. During the promotion for “Hercules,” it still wasn’t clear which character he would play.

Fans of the comics and Johnson have been waiting for this for sometime and following the reactions on twitter it looks like this is a perfect match for DC comics and Johnson’s career. It also gives Johnson a chance to play more of the anti-hero/villain instead of the straight up action hero his fans know him for.

 

[LiquidShaDow]

As DC prepares their shared movie universe, a lot of speculation has surrounded who Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is going to play. For over a year, the wrestler-turned-blockbuster actor had teased that he was in talks with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment for a comic book role – a character that had not been brought to the big screen before. Speculation and rumors pointed to a number of possibilities – including Aquaman (now confirmed to be played by Jason Mamoa), the John Stewart version of Green Lantern, Cyborg (to be played by Ray Fisher), as well as a part in the Shazam movie (either as the titular hero or antagonist Black Adam).

However, in the last month, the action star began to narrow the focus – specifically stating that the role was connected to Shazam and that, as many speculated he was either going to play the titular hero or Black Adam. Some fans questioned whether the actor might be attempting to spread misinformation to mask the possibility that he was set for a surprise cameo in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice as Green Lantern but, now, we have an official statement from Johnson regarding which character he’ll play in the DC movie universe.

After months of debate, Johnson took to Twitter to break the news – claiming that he will bring Black Adam to life.

"Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot." My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 3, 2014

Following Johnson’s tweet, Variety added to the news, claiming their sources say Darren Lemke (Jack the Giant Slayer) will write the Shazam movie script but has just been brought on board. The outlet also suggests that even though Lemke is in the early stages of work on Shazam, Warner Bros. (who merged with former Shazam studio New Line Cinema) is likely to push forward quickly with production once the screenplay is finished.

Coupled with Johnson’s choice to confirm his role this early, the timeline lends further credence to DC’s rumored film lineup – making it very possible that Shazam is targeting August 5th, 2016 or June 23rd, 2017 for release. Both of those dates are also rumored slots for Justice League but, while it has been suggested that Zack Snyder’s Batman V. Superman follow-up could arrive sooner than some expect (read: the August 2016 date), no official confirmation has been released.

Movie fans who are less familiar with the Shazam (formerly Captain Marvel) storyline are likely to think of Black Adam as Shazam’s archenemy. Yet, as Johnson suggests in his tweet with #TheAntiHero, the more recent iterations of the character have presented more as an antihero – a super-powered ruler with his own agenda, often resorting to violence in order to protect his interests. Black Adam has ‘abused’ the power of Shazam and is responsible for countless evil acts, to be sure, but in an expanding DC movie universe, there’s also room for the character to find redemption – not to mention make future appearances.

No doubt, many fans were hoping to see Johnson in the lead role as the super-powered side of Billy Batson/Shazam. However, as we’ve previously stated, the actor might actually get to dig deeper and explore a greater range in Black Adam. While DC will, without a doubt, be attempting to inject captivating drama into the main hero role – it’s likely the more reflective moments will occur in adolescent Billy Batson’s side of the story and a boyish but bulky grown-up (someone like Armie Hammer) will mostly provide supporting actor action muscle as Shazam.

Black Adam Shazam Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Johnson is Black Adam in Shazam

After all, if the casting of Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam sounds like a letdown for those hoping to see him play John Stewart, Aquaman, or Shazam, just think of what Tom Hiddleston has been able to able to do in the Marvel Universe as Loki – another comic book character that many expected to be a one-off villain.

Black Adam has fought several Justice League heroes over the years (including Superman), so if the Shazam film comes before Snyder’s team-up, Johnson might even have a malevolent hand in bringing the superhero group together.

Dwayne Johnson is Black Adam in ‘Shazam’

 

[Smartypants]

Can they get Michael Gambon to play Shazam ?