After many years of development, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is finally getting the chance to suit up as a supervillain in Black Adam, which has is nearing the end of production.
Though Johnson's tenure in the DCEU is just getting started, Black Adam producer Dany Garcia revealed that Johnson and crew "want to do many" sequels.
Not only will the film bring the Shazam villain to the big screen for the first time, but it will also introduce a multitude of various superheroes to the DCEU. Aldis Hodge will be heading the Justice Society of America as Hawkman, and will be joined by Quintessa Swindell's Cyclone and Noah Centineo's Atom Smasher.
Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan will also be starring as the mystic Doctor Fate, who teased that his superhero costume will be fully mo-capped.
Now yet another character with a heroic past has joined the super-powered roster, one who has a notable connection to a member of the Justice Society...
THE ATOM JOINS DWAYNE JOHNSON'S BLACK ADAM
The Direct can exclusively report that Al Pratt aka the original Atom will appear in Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam in a limited role, acting as an uncle figure to Noah Centineo's Albert Rothstein / Atom Smasher.
Rothstein will also don Al Pratt's former Atom superhero costume in the film.
DC'S GOLDEN AGE EMPOWERING THE NEW AGE
Black Adam appears to be highlighting many of DC's superheroes from the 1940s Golden Age of comics, with Al Pratt being yet another central figure from that era.
In the comics, Pratt is the first character to use the moniker of The Atom, who initially had no powers at all and was used instead as a bruiser, tough guy-type of character. The Atom would eventually gain the ability to enhance his punches with radioactive energy and was also immune to some forms of radiation.
Atom Smasher, on the other hand, has slightly different abilities, being able to grow in size similarly to Marvel's Ant-Man. Since Rothstein is set to be wearing Al Pratt's previous outfit at some point in Black Adam, the DCEU may be altering Pratt's powerset to match Rothstein's. Alternatively, the suit may be what grants the user its powers in the first place, rather than Pratt or Rothstein actually possessing native powers of their own.
Pratt is also the godfather of Albert Rothstein on the graphic page, which seems to be a trait being carried over to the film incarnation. Ma Hunkel will also be used in a similar fashion for Hawkman, acting as Carter Hall's caretaker. Hunkel has a few superheroic links of her own, being the first version of the Red Tornado and also being the grandmother of Cyclone.
It seems probable that previous JSA members, like Pratt and Hunkel, could be paving the way forward for new heroes to lead Black Adam's team into the modern day.
Black Adam premieres in theaters on July 29, 2022.
