Dwayne Johnson says Black Adam was inspired by The Rock’s WWE heel turn

Dwayne Johnson says that bringing Black Adam on the big screen was an intense fight from beginning to end. And one he couldn’t have done without the help of his heel-ready wrestling persona, The Rock.

It is believed that the origins of Black Adam go back nearly as far as The Rock’s stint in the WWE, which ended on a third heel turn tinged by Hollywood fame. Johnson met with New Line Cinema in 2007 to discuss a Shazam movie. The actor and wrestler became a star at that time. The Scorpion King, The Complete RundownAnd the most family-friendly Gridiron GangUnder his belt and the movie, which would portray the stories of Shazam (aka Captain Marvel), as well as Black Adam was conceptualized to have a lighter tone. This film would also be directed by Peter Segal, a comedy director who would work alongside Johnson. Be Smart). Johnson was apparently enlisted to play Shazam, but he saw potential in Black Adam. The movie would remain in Development Hell for over a decade. Johnson says the version we’re getting this October is “not at all” like the original plans for the character.

“The movie that was finally delivered after years and years of deliberation, of conversation, of fighting, was Shazam and Black Adam, in one movie, trying to tell both origin stories within 100 minutes,” Johnson tells Polygon. “And it felt like it was just thrown together. It didn’t feel like it had the priority and respect that both characters and both origin stories needed.”

Johnson states that, despite many back-and forth meetings, Johnson only completed a draft for the dual-lead movie script six to seven years prior. Johnson was inspired by the draft to contact Warner Bros. executives in order to challenge the whole idea of the film.

“I said, ‘I think we really have to go in another direction. I think we should split this up and make two movies,’” Johnson recalls. “[The script]It was much more fun than expected, which made it even harder. We saw the Seven Bucks, or Black Adam. [Johnson’s production company]The other side was that Black Adam, who was violent and intense and really pissed off was actually brutal. His family was wiped out. That’s his rage. And that was hard when we’re trying to establish that [tone] and we have a whole other thing here — and with a lot of kids!”

Black Adam Johnson returns to a more gritty wavelength. Johnson’s career is littered in PG blockbusters.Racing to the Witch Mountain, Tooth Fairy,Journey 2: The Mysterious IslandThe Jumanji films are a great example of a movie that is accessible to all audiences. Skyscraper, Red Notice), there’s detectable Rock DNA in his earlier movies. He is the gruff hero Being TallRemake, The unhinged action superstar in Southland Tales, and even his early turns as Luke Hobbs in the Fast franchise all lean into a meaner streak that was tantamount to The Rock’s feather-ruffling ring persona. Bringing genuine rage to Black Adam, and a force that could (as Johnson has put it so often in the press) change “the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe,” might be the pinnacle of that.

When I ask Johnson if he looked back to his days as The Rock for inspiration, specifically to his legendary 1998 heel turn, which teamed him up with Vince McMahon and morphed his persona into the “Corporate Champion,” he cracks a bit. “Man, I In love that you said that.”

It’s been nearly 20 years since Johnson was in the wrestling biz full time, but his WWE character is still a role he finds worth reflecting on. “The Rock,” he says, played an important role in steering Black Adam away from what he could have been in 2007 — and, perhaps, closer to what fans of the DC universe and Johnson’s are truly looking for.

“When I was a heel, and when I made that heel turn… people may not have agreed with my ‘why,’ and they may not have agreed with the things that I would do. The world of wrestling was very different at that point. Attitude Era had a much harsher approach. It was possible to get away with some of the worst shit you can do today. While people may not have agreed with the heel Rock, they all understood why he was doing what he was doing because I had the opportunity to talk about it — and talk shit in that way that The Rock did. These were just a few of the many similarities. The connection to Black Adam is that while you may not agree and you may interpret him as a supervillain, antihero, protector, even a superhero… you may not agree with his philosophy, but everyone understands.”

Rock-like attitude and swagger make it easy to get noticed. Black AdamTo get the movie on screen required a mix of big talk and muscle. Johnson said that it took years for his team to bring their vision to life, from the initial decision to make Black Adam a standalone movie to including Justice Society characters and other DC Comics names.

“We fought for a long time, and we weren’t gonna take ‘no’ for an answer,” Johnson says. “And here we are.”

Black Adam On Oct. 21, the film will go on sale in theatres.

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