Black Adam Has a Very High Kill Count, Pushing the Boundaries of PG-13

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s long-awaited DC outing, Black Adam, will push the boundaries of its PG-13 rating and has a “very high kill count,” teases producer Hiram Garcia. Comparing the antihero’s origin story to one of DC and Warner Bros.’ biggest cinematic successes, The Dark Knight, Garcia teased some edgy action for The Rock’s superhero debut.

“Black Adam is edgy, right? That’s gonna be a PG-13 movie where it was very much like, say, The Dark Knight, where that pushed the edges of PG-13. I think we do that very much with Black Adam. We have a very high kill count in our movie.”

While more specific plot details remain a closely guarded secret, Black Adam will introduce Dwayne Johnson as Teth-Adam AKA Black Adam, a man from Kahndaq who was imprisoned for 5,000 years. Chosen by the wizard Shazam to harness the powers of the ancient Egyptian Gods, S for the stamina of Shu, H for the swiftness of Horus, A for the strength of Amon, Z for the wisdom of Zehuti, A for the power of Aten, and M for the courage of Mehen, Black Adam goes on to become the archenemy of the superhero Shazam and his super-powered family. With such a dark history, it should come as little surprise that Black Adam won’t hold back when it comes to the kill count, but it is promising to know that the movie well heavily lean into the character’s antihero activities, as well as not shying away from the violence that leads him to become Black Adam.

This high number of kills tracks with what director Jaume Collet-Serra has said previously regarding his approach to Black Adam, in which he plans to shift Dwayne Johnson from comedic romantic lead in Disney’s Jungle Cruise to that of the super-powered DC supervillain, with the filmmaker having turned to Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry for inspiration. “Having just done a romantic adventure comedy where he’s very light, I was really attracted to getting the dark version of Dwayne,” Collet-Serra explained. “Basically, turning him into Clint Eastwood in a Western. I was like, ‘You’re like the Dirty Harry of superheroes.’ I didn’t have to convince people that I was right for this one in the same way that I did for Jungle Cruise. It’s like things I’ve done with Liam [Neeson], that tough-guy antihero who has a heart. The world is not black and white. The world is in gray areas, so you need these people that are riding that gray area.”

Alongside Johnson as Black Adam, the movie will also introduce the Justice Society of America (or JSA), with Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge, Quintessa Swindell, and Pierce Brosnan playing the likes of Atom Smasher, Hawkman, Cyclone, and Doctor Fate respectively. Additionally, Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, Bodhi Sabongui, Mo Amer, and Uli Latukefu have been cast in undisclosed role, with Sarah Shahi signed on to play Adrianna Tomaz, a university professor and resistance fighter in Kahndaq who ultimately becomes a superhero in her own right.

Black Adam is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 29, 2022. This comes to us from CBR.

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