Dwayne Johnson, protagonist of the upcoming DC Extended Universe (DCEU) superhero/anti-hero movie, Black Adam, discussed his role in a recent interview.
In late 2006, DC approached Johnson to play Captain Marvel, before the character was rebranded as Shazam to avoid legal issues.
However, he also held talks to play Black Adam. Johnson was first cast as Black Adam in 2014 and was in fact billed to play the villain in the 2019 DC movie, Shazam. However, he raised objections to this plan and advocated for a stand-alone Black Adam origin movie.
After meeting with DC executive, Geoff Johns, in 2017, Johnson got his wish as Black Adam and Shazam were separated into two different movies.
Johnson is not new to the big screen, with credits in blockbusters such as the Fast & Furious franchise, Central Intelligence, Red Notice, G. I. Joe: Retaliation, Rampage, Baywatch, and the Jumanji film series.