He’s been dancing around the DC Comics cinematic universe for years now, dropping coy hints about possible roles and films he’d like to tackle. Finally, Dwayne Johnson has made it official, making a deal to play the villain-turned-antihero Black Adam in a Shazam film.
Warner Bros. has hired Darren Lemke to write the script for the film, with Johnson attached to star. Shazam focuses on Billy Batson, who can become the hero known as Captain Marvel by saying the word, “Shazam!” which grants him the powers of six mythological gods.
Johnson’s character, Black Adam, has long been the nemesis for the hero, but in recent comics, he’s been on a path to change his nature and make amends for his past. And that would seem to be the embryonic film’s angle, as hinted at in Johnson’s tweet about the role today.
"Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot." My honor to become.. [#BlackAdam](https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackAdam?src=hash) [#TheAntiHero](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheAntiHero?src=hash) [#DCComics](https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCComics?src=hash) [pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7](http://t.co/Qk55eNf3R7) > > — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) [September 3, 2014](https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/507189313579122689)
Of course, it’s early days and with Lemke only just kicking off work, no director is attached and no schedule has been set for the movie. But the news also gives credence to word of Warner Bros. registering a batch of new domain names.
As for when Shazam will make its appearance? That’s still up in the air. But Warners has a lot of release dates to fill and having Johnson locked in for one of the movies helps figure out one of them…