Black Adam Solo Movie

[hedrap]

https://deadline.com/2017/01/shazan-dwayne-johnson-black-adam-1201889902/

This is what happens when you don't think a property is worth it, but you got the biggest actor attached to a secondary role.

I don't think it's coincidental the GL buddy movie moved forward at the same time. Like WB gave up trying get to move him into Stewart role.

[thunderbolt]

Still think they have Dwayne in the wrong role in that movie, he'd be a great Cap. Perfect at playing the immature guy like Marvel's been portrayed.

[hedrap]

^He's claims to have turned down Shazam. Timing doesn't add up though as he wasn't carrying big pictures in '07 like he is now.

I agree, Rock provides the perfect contrast to Superman. Over the top, hammy, like a kid playing a video game.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Geoff Johns LOVES Black Adam. He pushed and pushed the character in the early 2000s. I'm already sick of him. Great villain, but as an anti-hero, he's Namor. They even look the same.

Chris

[hedrap]

^Congrats Chris, you just solved the biggest mystery - why the Rock has been so attached to Adam.

In the early 2K's, I was told Johnson wanted to play Namor more than anyone else, but Marvel wanted Daniel Day Lewis. The project stalled in 05 and Universal moved it off the slate.

So, Adam comes along, Rock signs in 07 and has gotten to the point where he can make it his Namor. Then last year, Rock finally confirmed his long desire to play Namor and how it won't happen.

I had no idea Johns reinvented Adam. When I read the anti-hero title applied to him, it doesn't jibe.

[johnnystorm]

Just don't get the appeal of the character as a hero in any form. Black Adam is a VILLAIN. Period. He's the opposite number to Captain Marvel's goodness. The Reverse-Shazam if you will. Chris, you are so right about Johns' man-love for the character, trying to shoehorn him into a JSA membership, etc.
Terrible idea.
This just shows more about how lost DC is with it's characters and films. Showcasing a villain instead of building a hero franchise is absurd.

[huedell]

Why does the DCCU continue to make such brazenly contrived committee decisions when it fails time & time again... isn't it getting to the point where they realize even the WAY champion MCU wouldn't take these kind of sell-out risks... sure, Marvel does do things in the same vein, but at least they're good at selling out when piecing together a (what is true of the genre in current times) high value superhero movie.

[Earth 2 Chris]

My biggest problem with Johns is I honestly think he like the villains more than the heroes, and he tries every way he can to make them anti-heroes. Black Adam, Captain Cold and even Lex Luthor have all be recast as pseudo heroes under Johns. Give him a year on a regular Batman title and the Joker would be one too I bet!

Chris

[huedell]

My biggest problem with Johns is I honestly think he like the villains more than the heroes, and he tries every way he can to make them anti-heroes. Black Adam, Captain Cold and even Lex Luthor have all be recast as pseudo heroes under Johns. Give him a year on a regular Batman title and the Joker would be one too I bet!

I don't begrudge people liking what they like about superheroes (fans OR gatekeepers at DC)...

...my "biggest gripe" here is that this film stuff isn't the place to experiment time and time again w/the result being rare success...

i mean, do whatever you want in the comics... I mean, currently, being able to experiment in comicbooks is likely the best reason for print/comic superhero stuff to still be prominent in the marketplace...

But, if the powers that be (Johns, studio heads etc. et al) keep treating the DCCU like a comicbook experiment because they personally "like a concept" and feel the need to run with it within the context of the world stage of film, then they will hurt the DC brand much more than they've already hurt it.

DC's success rate in film vs. Marvel's looks pitiful, and that's gnawing away at the commercial value of the entire DCU.

But I should be SO used to it by now... they've been making these heavily misguided decisions in divvying out their DC characters for film for years.... starting with their heavy focus on Batman above all else in the DCU ... TWICE.

And, on that topic... Batman, Batman, Batman when at any time before the mediocre success of Man Of Steel and after the half-baked Superman IV production, they could have made a solid Superman movie... but instead "experimented" with the overly odd Superman Returns... and, hey, I LOVE Superman Returns compared to the Cavill outings... but that doesn't mean SR was a good decision for the DC brand overall.

When will the madness end?

[Earth 2 Chris]

^It is odd that DC hasn't learned any lessons from their successful animated offerings (especially those of Bruce Timm and crew), and distilled the property down to it's core concept, instead of jumping into these high-concept scenarios.

Common folk were still puzzled by the very concept of Batman v Superman ("Why are they fighting?"). Suicide Squad put us smack dab in a DCU the filmmakers hadn't earned like Marvel has by slowly building a universe (just like Marvel Comics did in the 60s).

I think that's the ultimate downfall of these films. They aren't willing to start from the bottom and work their way up. Fanboys can plug in what they know and go with the flow. General audiences are often left behind.

Chris

[palitoy]

This feels a lot like those Scorpion King movies are influencing this decision.

In the 1980s, I thought Black Adam was the #1 underused bad ass character, I don't feel that way anymore.

[hedrap]

I tend to believe the anti-hero trend is just for this outcome: attach an actor who thinks anti-heroes are kewl and get it in development.

Between Aquaman and Black Adam, it seems like Johns made a concerted effort to wreck Namor's movie value for Marvel. When Feige is asked, he never shows interest in pulling Namor into the MCU save for the "all our characters would make awesome movies" sell.

Think about how much better a Namor story would have been as the villain for Avengers 2. An Atlantean infinity gem works perfectly opposite Asgard's. Universal would have agreed under the same conditions as the Hulk rights. It could have been a quasi-adaptation of Avengers 3.

[madmarva]

With the Rock being a top box office draw at the moment, it's a good business decision.

WB ought to lead with a Black Adam movie. Show his origin in ancient Egypt with the old wizard Shazam. Get him to modern times and have him take over Khandaq as dictator. Have him fight off Superman at the climax. Have the wizard re-awaken and begin searching for the right hero to take down Black Adam. Maybe show Batson getting on the subway that takes him to the wizard as a post-credit or final scene of the flick. That could lead into the SHAZAM movie.

Business-wise it gets Rock out there as the star to introduce/re-introduce the SHAZAM concept to the general public. With Black Adam established as a huge threat by fighting Superman to a stalemate, it sets up Shazam/Captain Marvel as top-level hero when he vanquishes Black Adam in the Shazam/Captain Marvel film.

I also wouldn't mind if WB switched Rock to the Captain Marvel role or even gave him the dual role of Cap and Adam, although that might be more trouble than it would be worth.

[jacoblb]

I like the casting and I like the Rock.
Geoff Johns did a tremendous job making Black Adam a great character (pre New 52) in JSA, who was sometimes a good guy with a bad guy history. I hope that's the approach because the Rock can bring it all, a developed villain who's side we can understand. Unfortunately after all this time there still isn't a great candidate for Captain Marvel, who let's face it, when he's introduced he'll wear a white hood cape and be called Shazam. After Moana there's a whole new generation of movie goers aware of who the Rock is. I trust Johns' influence, Goyer is hit and mostly miss for me, and Snyder just doesn't have the right vision to show off the DC characters to the masses.

[huedell]

Well, I don't begrudge anyone their optimism... I suppose the sea change of DCCU influence from Goyer to Johns is all that's needed to right this ship...

Of course Black Adam is a great character... he's a pretty high-level DC staple.

And, it won't go without saying that, I'm the first one to say ANY movie idea CAN work.

Heck, I was optimistic for the odd choice of a Suicide Squad film because I thought a well-handled Suicide Squad gave a lot more options to jumpstart the DCCU as a MCU competitive thing AND that that "bad guy team" idea as such a jumpstart, would be viewed as uniquely clever by audiences.

Then, the movie actually happened. Not... so... helpful.

The DCCU's main flaws seem to stem from not giving audiences something more familiar, and losing them...

So, another lower tier helmed anti-hero flick seems like a questionable choice based on DCCU precedence w/quirky releases... I mean, a great Wonder Woman movie... or a great Flash movie seems a more appropriate project to take a stab at evening the score with the MCU.

But, a tight, appropriate Black Adam movie starring an A-lister to bring in the audiences? Bring it on! But I just hope that the powers-that-be take heed that just because something seems cool in early pre-production, doesn't mean that it will magically be cool with the general movie-goers spoiled beautiful with the MCU.

They gotta keep focused on what makes DCU characters who they are... keep it consistent in the film... and allow THAT to sell the films above all "neat-o ideas" "curve balls" and "otherwise sizzle".

In other words:

"DC/WB, build your freakin' BRAND!"