Black Adam director says the movie will be a "disruptor" in the way superhero movies are made

Dwayne Johnson on set of Black Adam with Jaume Collet-Serra
(Image credit: Warner Bros)

Though Black Adam is an origins story, it also introduces other juicy characters who will make waves within the DCEU. 

Audiences will meet Adam’s wife Adrianna, and also the Justice Society of America – who predate that other gang, the Justice League. Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) are 'integral' to this story according to Jaume Collet-Serra. 

"You have a couple of seasoned veterans, like Hawkman and Doctor Fate, and you have a couple of newbies like Atom Smasher and Cyclone," he tells Total Film in the latest issue of the magazine, featuring Black Adam on the cover.

"And that chemistry and coming together to try to defeat someone who’s undefeatable like Black Adam, creates a lot of interesting situations – without having the pressure to carry the whole movie. That’s a much more fresh way in."

Fresh was the order of the day when making the movie too as, like so many other projects, Black Adam was hit by the pandemic and had to find new ways of creating. 

"Black Adam is a disruptor in the DC Comics world, and it has to be a disruptor in the way that we make a superhero movie," says Collet-Serra. "I like to be challenged, and I wanted to create new technology, so we developed the way that [Adam] moves, the way that he flies, his costume. And then it trickled down to every other character and the movie itself. But there was always the goal – to be new and unique in the storytelling and in every aspect of it."

Black Adam opens in cinemas on July 29, 2022. For much more on the film, check out the brand new issue of Total Film magazine when it hits stands (real and digital) from Thursday, December 9.

Total Film's Black Adam cover

(Image credit: Warner Bros/Total Film)

If you’re a fan, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? You’ll save money on the cover price, have the issue delivered to your door before it’s on newsstands, *and* you’ll get subscriber-exclusive covers like the Black Adam one below. What are you waiting for?

The Total Film Black Adam cover

(Image credit: Future/Warner Bros)
Contributing Editor, Total Film

Jane Crowther is a contributing editor to Total Film magazine, having formerly been the longtime Editor, as well as serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Film Group here at Future Plc, which covers Total Film, SFX, and numerous TV and women's interest brands. Jane is also the vice-chair of The Critics' Circle and a BAFTA member. You'll find Jane on 12DOVE exploring the biggest movies in the world and living up to her reputation as one of the most authoritative voices on film in the industry. 

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