Wrestler-turned-leading man Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has been attached to DC Comics roles for at least a decade, with rumours linking him – at various times – to the roles of Aquaman, Black Adam and Lobo.
Speaking to La Nacion, Johnson came the closest so far to confirming his role, narrowing it down to two.
“I will be playing a DC comics character. It’s the story of Shazam,” revealed Johnson, “but I can’t say if my role is Shazam or Black Adam.
“We’ve been developing this for some time, and I’ve always been fan of antiheroes. This one in particular, I think we’ll be doing it justice. I’m putting my heart and soul and bones in this role.
“I’ve been interested in two characters my whole career, they’ve been my favourites since I was a child: Green Lantern and Black Adam. I think we’ve just made the announcement!” he laughs.
Shazam, better known as the Fawcett Comics Captain Marvel, is a young boy with the power of Greek heroes, on a par with Superman in terms of sheer prowess. All he has to do is say “Shazam!” and he transforms into a muscular adult form, gaining access to his incredible powers.
Black Adam, meanwhile, is in the comic-book canon an earlier champion from Ancient Egypt, also wielding the power of the wizard Shazam, he rarely reverts to his mortal form.
Teth Adam was reinvented in Geoff Johns’ Justice Society of America as more of a morally absolute antihero who adheres to an Old Testament brand of justice – proper eye-for-an-eye stuff that often places him at odds with the Apple Pie values of his modern counterpart.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice will be released on 6 May 2016 – read our defence of Ben Affleck’s casting here and Gal Gadot’s casting here. Find out more about the comics that inspired the film with new digital magazine Uncanny Comics.
