Black Adam: How The Rock Can Change The DCEU (Like He Did Fast & Furious)

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Like the Fast & Furious franchise found a strong supporting character and protagonist of a spinoff in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the DCEU can find its new star once he debuts as the titular character of Black Adam. Dwayne Johnson has been attached to Black Adam for quite a few years, long before the DCEU officially started in 2013 with Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Despite the unfortunate decline of the franchise after the theatrical cut of Justice League, the live-action debut of the DC anti-hero and legendary Shazam villain has continued to be in development.

Black Adam is set to release some time in the near future, but it probably won't have many connections to the story of Zack Snyder's Justice League. An appearance by Henry Cavill's Superman is also off the table after Warner Bros.' decision to move forward with a different iteration of the character. The only considerable connection to the rest of the DCEU fans are expecting to see is Black Adam's eventual fight with his archnemesis, Zachary Levi's Shazam.

Black Adam counts with a promising cast, composed of the likes of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, as well as the interesting prospect of a Justice Society and their possible ties with and the legend of the original seven champions. Black Adam could be the start of a new DCEU after The Flash reboots it. However, the most important addition for the DCEU as a whole is The Rock and his cinematic golden touch.

How The Rock Changed Fast & Furious Movies

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Dwayne Johnson had an increasingly successful film career after his many years as a pro wrestler, but it wasn't until he portrayed Luke Hobbs in Fast Five that he really cemented himself as a beloved action star. His hulking physique and no-nonsense personality rivaled Vin Diesel's commanding presence, and his brutal one-on-one fight with the star of the franchise proved that Hobbs needed to stay in the Fast & Furious movies after Fast Five. Dwayne Johnson's charisma earned him various roles in movies such as Hercules and San Andreas, which depended more on Johnson's charming persona rather than their premises. Similarly, The Rock added allure to the Fast and Furious movies, a franchise that was already known for its larger-than-life characters even before The Rock arrived.

It's not a coincidence that Hobbs' introduction came at the same time as Fast and Furious' shift toward more spectacular action. Dwayne Johnson infused Fast Five with a heightened sense of badassery, which helped the next installments evolve into heist movies centered around global conspiracies with sci-fi elements. As The Rock's star power grew, he also received more freedom to put his creative juices to the test. In Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the wrestler exploited his distinctive brand of humor to fight Idris Elba's superpowered villain without the audience raising an eyebrow. The Rock's superhuman ability to sustain all suspension of disbelief gives him the freedom to play with genres and make every movie his own, regardless of how realistic or how absurd the premise is.

Black Adam Needs To Be The Rock's Own Franchise

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Despite The Rock's long string of box office hits, he doesn't have a specific franchise that he can call his own. There's often one central star in each franchise, regardless of how many characters it has. For instance, the MCU's main star was Robert Downey Jr. for a long time before it conceived a wide variety of protagonists, and Fox's X-Men franchise relied on Hugh Jackman's unique performance as Wolverine. Likewise, the Fast and Furious movies follow the bombastic adventures of Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto and the late Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner. While the Rock breathed new life into Jumanji, the new Jumanji movies still build upon the success of Robin Williams' iconic performance in the 1995 original. With Dwayne Johnson's proven talent, what better idea than a superhero franchise?

The Rock is passionate about Black Adam and his attachment to the role suggests he understands the character more than anybody else. The DCEU has lost its main stars after the unfortunate mishandling of Henry Cavill's Superman and Ben Affleck's Batman, but this is the perfect opportunity for Dwayne Johnson to step up and fill the DCEU's leading role. With The Rock's charisma and physicality, there are very few corners of the DCEU that can go unexplored. The rivalry between Black Adam and the Shazam family is the most obvious one, but the DCEU can also show Black Adam's adventures in ancient Egypt, his most evil side during the genocide he committed as a champion, his origin story, or his relationship with the Suicide Squad and the Justice League. In the comics, Black Adam has also joined the Legion of Doom alongside Lex Luthor and Black Manta. The possibilities are truly endless.

How The Rock's Black Adam Can Change The DCEU

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The DCEU shifting focus on The Rock's Black Adam not only helps the possible stories it can tell but also the way it can tell them. The DCEU has relied on Zack Snyder's idiosyncratic style of gloom and doom, which was supposed to culminate in a fitting apocalypse courtesy of DC villain Darkseid. Now that Justice League is the end of that storyline, the DCEU has more freedom to explore new tones and new genres, which seems to already be happening with James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and Andy Muschietti's The Flash. Black Adam's DCEU appearances can lean on The Rock's natural action and comedy skills, and future movies can focus on character rather than long-form storytelling or interconnectivity between titles.

The Rock can also start the DCEU's bet on star power, which would help strong personalities like Jason Momoa stand out even more. Although the DCEU has met plenty of logistical problems, its top-notch casting wasn't one of them. But while Henry Cavill couldn't enjoy tighter stories to demonstrate how he much understood Superman, Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra could follow Dwayne Johnson with a camera on a regular day and he would perfectly capture the essence of the character.