'Shazam' actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson declined taking on the role of the titular superhero and instead chose to play the supervillain Black Adam instead. He also teased of release date earlier than the scheduled 2019 target.
as the main antagonist Black Adam in DC's new addition in the extended universe. The actor teased the film's release as earlier than the scheduled 2019 date. According to Screen Rant, the Canadian-American professional wrestler-turned-actor was offered both the lead superhero role and main villain role for 'Shazam'.
However, he declined the former and chose to be the bad guy instead. Warner Bros. and DC originally scheduled a 2019 cinematic debut for the film but Johnson teased otherwise - hinting that it may come earlier than that.
In an earlier interview he admitted his choice of Black Adam over Shazam, formerly known as DC's Captain Marvel, according to Den of Geek. He said, "I felt ultimately, and this is with all due respect to Shazam/Billy Batson, it's a mythology that I love; it's been with me for almost ten years now; what made me choose Black Adam? I just felt Black Adam was inherently more interesting to me because I felt there were more layers to Black Adam starting out as a slave and then ultimately becoming the anti-hero who we enjoy today."
Shazam's primary adversary, who was first created for the comic book series back in 1945, may play a big part in the upcoming film's plot arc. He was originally portrayed as Shazam's corrupted Egyptian ancestor but in later issues became described as "an antihero trying to clear his name". Perhaps this was the level of character complexity Johnson was referring to.
According to the Irish Examiner, Johnson has a number of upcoming blockbuster hits under his belt. Apart from signing on to 'Shazam', he was recently announced to star in Disney's latest big-screen adaptation of another theme park ride 'Jungle Cruise' as well as their upcoming animated film 'Moana'. He is also set to reprise his role as a government bounty hunter Luke Hobbs in 'Furious 8'.
These are only a few of the long line of films waiting to come in and work with the highly bankable actor. Johnson is not only active on the big-screen as he is also currently involved with a new HBO television series focused on the lives of American footballers entitled 'Ballers'. Several media outlets have described him as the newest busiest man in Hollywood.
'Shazam' is an upcoming action-fantasy film in the DC extended universe scheduled to be released on April 5, 2019. The comic books center on the adventures of a fictional hero named Shazam/Captain Marvel as an alter-ego of a boy named Billy Batson. Upon speaking the word "Shazam!", Billy transforms into a superhuman adult with powers of incredible strength, speed, and flight.
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